Percy Jackson and the Paragons: Child of Earth
by Nitemare08
Summary: Percy and Annabeth bring Leo and Piper to meet their old friends, twins Grant and Alice and their unique team of monster hunters known as the Paragons. Their weekend getaway turns disastrous when a renegade demigod claiming to be the son of Gaia interrupts their reunion seeking vengeance.
1. Chapter 1

**_Foreword: This is actually a sequel to my original Percy Jackson and the Paragons story, however you can read either story without needing to read the other. This story appears as Part 2 of my original fanfic, but I decided to give it its own story slot for several reasons. The foremost of which is that this story actually has a plot and wasn't made up as I went along. Now that that's taken care of, thanks for checking out my story. Enjoy!  
_**

"So… did it show up yet?" asked Annabeth.

"Well, not exactly," said Percy.

Annabeth put her hand on Percy's shoulder. "Don't worry. They'll probably send it soon."

"Easy for you to say, you got your acceptance letter a week after you applied."

"It wasn't a week. Eight days. There's a lot of applications to go through, maybe yours just fell to the bottom of the pile."

"There can't be that many demigods applying to New Rome University. Not unless super fertility is part of being a god."

Annabeth shuddered. "Ugh, don't ever mention either of our parents and fertility ever again."

"Yeah, that didn't even sound good in my head."

"What time is it?" Annabeth asked. She and Percy lay on the hill overlooking Camp Half-Blood.

"I think it's almost noon," yawned Percy. He started rolling up the picnic blanket while Annabeth grabbed the basket. "We'd better get going if we're going to make it on time."

"Did you talk to the others?" Annabeth asked.

"Frank's busy with Praetor stuff and Hazel is spending the day hanging out with Nico. How about you?"

"Jason was busy but Leo and Piper should be able to come."

With everything packed up they made their way down the hill. Percy glanced at Annabeth. "Last one to the Poseidon Cabin has to clean the pegasus stables."

"Oh, you're so on," responded Annabeth. She took off down the hill followed closely by Percy.

Percy sprinted down the hill catching up to Annabeth. He looked at her and winked. Annabeth just smiled and rolled her eyes. Percy looked ahead and stopped in his tracks as a volley of arrows landed in the targets just three feet in front of him. Annabeth sped past him, waving. Percy ran around the archery range trying to catch up to Annabeth. He took a shortcut through the forest. He dodged past trees as quickly as he could. He stumbled on a root, but quickly regained his balance. Percy ran to the edge of the forest. He ran around one of the trees and collided hard with someone on the other side. He fell to the ground. Percy picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"Sorry," Percy said.

"It's alright," said a tall dark-haired boy. "I should have been watching where I was going."

"Hey, Ryan, right?" Percy asked.

"Yup, that's me."

Ryan was a newer kid at camp. He showed up about a month ago. He was always quiet and kept to himself most of the time. Typical new kid behavior. Percy never formally met him. All he knew about him was that he was sixteen, but was never claimed by his godly parent.

Percy extended a hand to him. "I'm Percy."

"I know," said Ryan. "You don't exactly keep a low profile around here."

Percy smiled shyly. "Yeah, I tend to get myself in trouble a lot."

"No kidding."

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Okay, well nice meeting you," said Percy and he ran off to the Poseidon Cabin.

He ran through the clearing searching for Annabeth but she was no where in sight. He burst through the door. Inside Annabeth sat on his bed. "What took you so long?" she asked.

"I thought I'd let you win this time," said Percy. "If you lost every race you wouldn't want to do it anymore."

Annabeth laughed. "I took the time to pack your stuff for you."

"We're leaving already?"

"Yeah, we've got a long trip ahead of us. We'll pick up Leo and Piper before we leave. Do you have the map?"

Percy checked his pockets. "Uhh…"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing I bought an extra one." She pulled a large fold-out map from the suitcase.

Percy sat on the bed next to her. "Good thinking." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll go get the car."

The two picked up Leo and Piper outside the camp.

"Shotgun," yelled Leo. He ran to the passenger door.

Annabeth leapt in front of him. "Not this time, Valdez. Not unless you want to be the navigator." She waved a folded up map at him.

"I think I'll leave that job to you, Chase," said Leo. He jumped in the seat behind Percy.

Piper climbed into the seat behind Annabeth. "So who are these friends of yours again?" Piper asked.

"Grant and Alice," said Annabeth. "They've been gracious enough to invite us to stay the weekend at their house in Maine."

"Oh that's cool," said Leo. "Doesn't sound like a trap one bit."

"They're friendly, don't worry," said Annabeth. "They know all about demigods and monsters."

"Is it really safe to assume mortals with that knowledge are trustworthy?" Piper asked.

Percy spoke up. "We've saved the world together before. We can trust them."

"You'll see when you meet them. They're honestly some of the nicest people I know," said Annabeth.

"If you say so," said Leo. "Just don't say I didn't warn you if they try to eat us."

"Why would they eat us?" asked Annabeth.

"I don't know what kind of weird stuff these people are into."

"Get those gremlins out of the kitchen!" Alice shouted. She held a frying pan up in self defense. A two foot tall green scaly monster with huge ears and sharp teeth sat in the sink chewing on the soap.

Grant held up two more gremlins. "Where did they even come from?" he asked.

A pretty blonde girl dove over the dining room table to grab another gremlin. "Don't know, but when I find out someone's getting punched," she said.

"Easy, Kate," said a boy standing in the doorway holding a bag that thrashed and growled. "We don't want to jump to conclusions just yet."

"Harold's right," said Alice. "We don't have time to be arguing with each other. Percy and Annabeth will be here soon and we need to have this food done in time."

"Ow, he bit me!" Kate yelled. She waved her hand around. "Stupid gremlins."

"Harold, can you make the dinner while we keep the gremlins out?" asked Alice.

"Absolutely." Harold took the frying pan while Alice carried the soap devouring gremlin into the living room.

Grant and Kate carried their captured gremlins over to the trash bin and dropped them in. Kate quickly tied the end of the bag before the tiny monsters could escape. Grant slung the bag over his shoulder and the couple left in search of more gremlins.

Harold started preheating the oven. "Could you get me the turkey from the fridge?" he asked seemingly to no one.

"Sure," said Fiona. She floated, nearly transparent, next to Harold. The fridge door opened and the turkey breast levitated over to the counter. Harold was the only one who could see Fiona. She was the ghost of a girl whose spirit somehow bonded to Harold's. Ever since childhood they've been best friends.

As Harold prepared the meal Fiona watched over his shoulder. "Whatcha making?"

"Turkey."

"What kind of turkey?"

"Cooked turkey."

"Haha, very funny," Fiona said sarcastically. Harold didn't even acknowledge her remark. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Wrong? Nothing. Nothing at all is wrong. Why would you even suggest that anything could possibly be wrong?"

"If that was sarcasm I don't think you're doing it right."

"It wasn't," said Harold bluntly.

"Ooookay," said Fiona. "Things are getting a little too hostile for me. I'll just give you some space."

Harold sighed. "Do you think we're doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean?"

Harold slid the turkey into the oven. "I mean this, all of this."

"Could you be a little more vague please? I could almost make sense of that," said Fiona. "That was sarcasm by the way," she added.

"I know what sarcasm is, I just… I don't know how to explain this to you."

"Try using words, that usually works."

Harold sat at the dining table. "How about I present to you a hypothetical scenario?"

"Okay." Fiona floated so that the table intersected her midsection. "Shoot."

"Say you grew up with someone who always brought you joy. When you and this person were together you thought you could accomplish anything."

"I'm imagining it."

"One day you woke up and realized that not only did you care for this person, but you truly loved them."

"But they didn't love me back?"

"Actually, imagine they felt the same. You and this person had been together for so long that the next logical step was to become a couple."

"Aww, that's so cute."

"Except, it doesn't last. After a while the person decides that they don't really love you. Now, your heart is broken because you still care for this person, but they don't reciprocate those feelings anymore. You reluctantly agree to break up regardless of your own feelings because you want that person to be happy."

"This is starting to sound familiar."

"And now you see that person has moved on from you, but you just can't get over her… I mean them."

"So this is why you've been so distant lately?"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Fiona gave Harold a hug. "Harold, you know that you'll always be my number one guy. You're the only one I can even talk to." She rustled his hair. "We haven't lost each other yet. You're still my best friend." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Harold sighed again. "Thanks, that's just the kind of pep talk I needed." He gave his best fake smile.

"There's the Harold I know," said Fiona cheerfully. "Now, when does that turkey get done?"

Grant came running into the kitchen chasing a gremlin. The gremlin leapt for the sink, but Harold caught it mid air. He gently cradled it in his arms and handed it to Grant. Kate came running in with a trash can shaking from the several gremlins inside. Grant tossed the gremlin in and Kate slammed the lid on the trash can.

"That's the last one," said Kate.

"That we know of," said Grant.

Alice came into the kitchen. "Phew, I think we caught them all before they could cause too much damage," she said. "It's a good thing they didn't chew on the electrical wiring, otherwise…" The lights flickered then went out.

Alice blinked in the dark. "Okay, I may have a spell that can fix this. You two go change your clothes."

"What's wrong with jeans?" Grant and Kate asked in unison.

"I'm not meeting my friends for the first time in months in jeans. Now go." Grant and Kate trudged upstairs. Alice looked at the flickering light bulb above. "I hope they're running late," she muttered.

"Are we going the right way?" asked Percy?

"Yeah it says so on the map," said Annabeth.

"Couldn't we just use a GPS or OnStar or something?" asked Leo.

"Not unless you want to be attacked by monsters every five feet," said Piper.

"At this point a little excitement would be great."

"Wait is that the road?" Percy asked.

"I think so," said Annabeth.

Percy turned down the dirt path leading into the forest. They drove past shadowy trees that shook in the wind. As they delved deeper into the forest the trees began looking creepier and creepier.

"Yup," said Leo, "definitely a trap."

"This place is creepier than my dad's old mullet," said Piper.

"We should be almost there," said Annabeth. "Just past these woods."

As they progressed further into the forest the trees above blocked out any of the already waning sunlight. Percy squinted to see any further with the car's dim headlights. Something big came into view. Percy stepped on the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt.

"What is that?" Piper asked.

A huge boulder blocked the road. In the headlights it appeared to have a face. Suddenly, the boulder rolled to one side and stood on two bulky stone legs. Two eyes burned red in the stone that made up the creature's head. It raised a massive fist.

"Golem!" shouted Annabeth. "Get out!"

Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Piper rolled out of the car just before the golem smashed through the front windshield. The golem picked up the whole car and crumpled it like tin foil.

"Are golem attacks covered by insurance?" Percy asked.

"Yeah didn't you know Geico covers golems, Griffins, even the occasional gorgon?" said Leo.

The golem turned its gaze to Leo. It lurched towards him, but tripped and rolled instead. Leo jumped out of the way of the rolling boulder. The golem crashed into a thick oak tree. It stood up and noticed one of its arms was missing. It bent over to pick up its arm and tried in vain to re attach it.

"This thing is looking less and less threatening by the minute," Annabeth said.

The golem stared confused at its own arm. A kid jumped out from the bushes. He started berating the golem. "No, you idiot. Attack them." The golem drooped its head like a dog that knew it was in trouble.

"Who is that?" asked Piper.

"Look, he's wearing a Camp Half Blood shirt," said Annabeth.

Percy looked a little closer until he recognized the kid's face. "Ryan?"

The kid turned his head towards Percy. "Yeah, it's me. Surprised?"

"A little." Percy shrugged.

"Well, you shouldn't be!" Ryan shouted. "You should have known this day was coming. There was bound to be consequences for what you and your friends did."

"What did we do, exactly?" asked Piper.

Ryan glared at Piper. "You can't be serious."

"No, she's pretty serious," said Annabeth. "What did we do?"

Ryan stomped his foot. "You ruined the only chance for this world to be equal again. You and those heretic gods killed my brothers and sister. And worst of all is you," he pointed his finger at Leo, "Valdez."

"Me?" Leo questioned.

"You blew up my mom."

"Wait, Gaea?"

"Quiet! You aren't worthy of saying her name!" shouted Ryan. "You will all get what you deserve, but Valdez is mine." Ryan pointed at the demigods. "Crush them!"

The golem charged at them swinging its own arm like a club. Percy dodged the swing and uncapped his sword. Percy swung Riptide at the golem, but the Celestial Bronze blade just bounced off its rocky hide.

The golem swatted Percy away. Percy cautiously sat up. "Okay maybe charging at a golem wasn't the best idea."

The golem turned its attention to Piper. It raised its arm club above its head.

"Stop!" Piper shouted, layering on the charmspeak. "You don't want to attack us." The golem tilted its head. "You want to take a nap. Go ahead, lay down and go to sleep."

The golem lurched forward and fell face first into the ground. The golem made quiet groaning noises that sounded like snoring.

"Well done, Piper," said Annabeth.

Piper bowed. "I try."

"No! Get up you useless pile of rocks!" Ryan shouted. "Fine, I guess I'll have to do this myself." He put his hands up like a boxer. He kept looking down and repositioning his feet.

"Ryan, we don't want to fight you," said Percy.

"Then, you'll come with me to face justice for what you've done," said Ryan.

"Well, we don't want to do that either, but can we just talk?

A giant hand made of rocks sprouted from the ground and wrapped around Percy. "I'm not going to lower myself to negotiating with demigods," said Ryan. "I'm getting justice for Gaea here and now."

Annabeth and Leo ran to help Percy, but Ryan held up his hand to stop them. "Take one more step and ill crush him," threatened Ryan.

Percy managed to get his arm free of the rock hand. He reached into his pocket hoping Riptide would have returned. He removed the pen from his pocket and clicked it. The pen jumped into the air and expanded into a full size sword.

Percy reached out to grab it but his arm wouldn't reach. Ryan snatched the sword out of the air. He examined the sword with intrigue. "So this is the famous Riptide. Doesn't seem so special to me."

"That's because it's not the sword that's special," muttered Percy. The rock hand tightened its grip. "Ahhhh," Percy groaned.

"You don't scare me, Jackson," said Ryan. He held Riptide out flat and two more smaller rock hands sprouted from the ground and held onto each end of it. Ryan positioned his arms to mimic the position of the rock ones. "And neither does your sword." Ryan brought his hands together and the rock hands did the same. Riptide made a loud metallic creak before shattering into several pieces. The sword's normal glow dissipated. Each shard lay lifeless on the ground.

Ryan picked up the hilt of the former blade. "Weak, like you." He tossed it to the side. "Now as for the rest of you…" Ryan looked at Annabeth and Leo who stood in shock. "Wait where's the other one?"

"Release Percy, now," said Piper. She stood behind Ryan.

"Release… Percy?" Ryan stammered. The rock hand opened up and Percy fell to the ground.

Gnarled tree roots sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around Piper. A leaf grew from one of the roots and covered Piper's mouth. More roots grappled Percy as he gathered together what remained of Riptide.

Ryan shook his head. "The charmspeaker…" said Ryan, "I'm going to have to keep an eye on you."

More roots rose beneath Leo and Annabeth's feet. Leo's hands shot fire and burned the roots away. Annabeth pulled out her celestial bronze dagger and cut through the constricting roots.

"Dude, you know your mom was the bad guy, right?" asked Leo.

"Quiet! I don't want to hear any more from you murderers." Ryan stomped his foot. The ground beneath Leo's feet became much less solid. Leo sank quickly into the ground. Annabeth grabbed his hand and tried to lift him out. The quicksand expanded and the harder Annabeth pulled on Leo's arm the further she sank in with him. Soon both of them were up to their chests in quicksand.

"What now?" asked Leo.

"We hope for a miracle," answered Annabeth.

"Then, you'll be pleasantly surprised to see us here." Grant stood on a tree branch in the distance. He jumped out of the tree, but his foot got caught by a branch and he tumbled down and landed on his back. "Crap, I messed up the cool entrance." He stood up, brushing the dirt from his pants. "Let's all just forget that happened." Behind him Alice, Kate and Harold appeared from the forest.

"Too late," said Kate holding up her phone. "It's already on YouTube."

"I don't suppose I can convince you to take it down?," asked Grant.

"Not a chance."

"So I'm assuming these are your friends?" said Harold.

"Yup, and they need our help," said Alice.

"Do you think more demigods are enough to save you?" asked Ryan menacingly.

"Newsflash, Rocky, we're not demigods," said Kate.

"Really? 'Rocky?' That's what you're going with?" Grant asked.

"I work with what I've got."

"Grant and Kate keep him busy," said Alice, " Harold get those two out of the quicksand."

Harold ran to Leo and grasped his hand. Fiona appeared next to him. "You're not going to get him out in time, here let me help."

"I got this, just go help her," said Harold.

"Who are you talking to?" Leo asked, thoroughly confused.

"I'll explain later."

Fiona reluctantly grabbed Annabeth's hands. She concentrated hard. Her form began to turn intangible. Annabeth's hands turned intangible as well and it spread through her whole body. Fiona lifted Annabeth from the ground with ease.

Annabeth quickly ran to help Harold rescue Leo, who was now up to his neck in quicksand. Harold and Annabeth each took an arm and began to pull. Leo slowly rose from the earth. Harold's foot slipped and fell into the sand. Fiona caught him from behind and helped him to his feet.

"Watch your feet," said Fiona. "Trust me you don't want sand in your ears." Harold didn't respond.

Eventually, Leo stood on solid ground. "Thanks guys," he said, " but how did you get her out before me?"

Harold tried to catch his breath. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said. "Nobody else does."

"Yeah, that's kind of screwed up that no one thinks I exist," said Fiona. "I mean, come on. What do I have to do, spell it out?"

Alice finished cutting the roots around Percy. He fell to the ground holding Riptide's remains in his arms.

"Are you alright, Percy?" Alice asked.

"He… broke my sword," muttered Percy. "I didn't even think that was possible."

"I'm so sorry, Percy," said Alice.

"Chiron gave me Riptide when I was twelve. I've had it for years."

"We'll find a way to fix it, I promise." Alice smiled as comforting as she could. She wasn't sure if she could fix it, but she couldn't let Percy down.

"Thanks," said Percy.

Alice helped Percy to his feet. "Stay back, we'll take care of this guy," she said.

Percy grabbed her shoulder. "Watch out, he's really strong." He started to walk away, but turned back and added, "But don't hurt him. He's not evil, just misunderstood."

Alice nodded.

Grant was surrounded by four walls of stone. He couldn't climb out because the walls were smooth. He could hear rocks being smashed on the other side of the walls. Kate was shouting from the other side. At least that means she's still alive, thought Grant.

He and Kate had been dating for a few months. He met her at school during a co-ed kickball tournament. She was the leader of the opposing team. After a long arduous battle she emerged victorious in triple overtime. It was then that Grant fell for her. After the game he asked her out and she slapped him in the face. That was her way of saying yes. She would never admit it, but she respected him for being the only person able to put up a challenge.

On their first date Grant had to leave to stop a monster downtown. Refusing to be stood up, Kate followed him and saw what he did in his spare time. Needless to say, she wanted in on it. Grant himself has been training her in the ways of monster hunting ever since. She moved in at the house just two weeks ago as a full fledged member of the team.

Grant listened to Ryan's aggravated shouts. He smiled. That's my girl, he thought. Suddenly, Kate appeared at the top of the wall.

"Enjoying your little break?" Kate asked.

"Actually, yes," he said. "He's not giving you too much trouble is he?"

"Who, that guy? Nah," said Kate. "Though I wouldn't say no to some help." She offered her hand. Grant took a running start and leapt up to grab Kate's hand. She pulled him up and over the wall.

Ryan took a few labored breaths. "Just… stand… still," he heaved. A layer of stones coated his hands and forearms, making his fists look like they were made of rocks.

Kate back-flipped off the wall. "You must be new to this. I'm just getting started and you already look like you're about to collapse."

Ryan growled. He picked up a huge rock and threw it at Kate. She just cartwheeled to the side and the rock hit the ground.

"Oh wait, don't tell me," Kate gasped. "Is this your first fight? Aww that's so cute." She smirked at him. "I mean, it's pretty pathetic too, but still… cute."

"I've been training since birth to kill demigods! My mother taught me to control the very ground beneath your feet." Ryan kept talking while Grant slowly flanked him.

"Really? Your mommy taught you how to fight? That explains why you're so bad at it." Ryan was fuming. "Did your mommy teach you not to be a sore loser, too?" Kate was waiting for Grant to get into position.

Grant was now directly behind Ryan. He locked eyes with Kate. She gave him a slight nod. Grant charged at Ryan. He prepared to tackle Ryan to the ground, but right in front of him the ground sank into a small hole. Grant couldn't adjust his course before he stepped in the hole and twisted his ankle.

Grant fell to his knees. Suddenly, Ryan was standing over him. Ryan lifted Grant's chin. He pulled his fist back for a good punch. Grant instinctively covered his face. Ryan thrust his fist at Grant's chest, knocking the wind out of him. He lay in the dirt coughing and wheezing.

"Grant!" Kate yelled. She blinked once and regained her composure. She glared at Ryan. "Way to sucker punch my boyfriend. I see you don't know how to fight like a man."

"That's because I'm no mere man," said Ryan, "I'm the son of Gaea, the Earth Mother, and the heir to her endless armies."

"Do you ever stop talking about yourself?" Leo asked, joining the fight. "We get it, you're a bad guy. Just get to the part where we beat you and move on with our lives."

"I would still like to know how Gaea had a human kid," said Annabeth, "but I'm kind of afraid of the answer."

"Let's ask him then," said Alice, "politely, of course. I didn't mean to insinuate that we beat the answers out of him or anything like that. That may have sounded wrong given the context."

"I think we all understand what you meant," said Harold.

"I didn't," said Fiona.

"Watch yourself," said Piper, "he's more dangerous than he looks."

One by one the demigods and the paragons stood side by side against Ryan. Percy joined the line last. "Strength in numbers, right? I can't let you guys have all the fun."

Ryan got into his boxing stance. "Very well, I'll show all of you what happens…"

"No!" Grant's shout startled Ryan. "He's mine!" Grant sprung to his feet. His eyes were literally on fire. His sword hung by his side, fully ablaze.

"Grant, pull back. We'll handle this together," ordered Alice.

Grant ignored her and charged at Ryan, sword raised. Ryan stepped out of the way and brought his elbow down on Grant's back as he charged past.

Grant rolled along the ground, but quickly got back to his feet and charged again. Ryan raised a stone wall in his way, but Grant swung his sword and cleaved right through the rock. His flaming sword melted any stone it came into contact with.

"Just who is this guy?" asked Leo.

"Does the fire thing happen often?" asked Piper.

Ryan took a step back, concerned. He launched a massive boulder at Grant. Grant's sword became a scythe that he hurled into the air. The scythe split the boulder in half midair and returned to Grant's hand.

Ryan tried to command the ground beneath Grant to open up and pull him in, but Grant kept moving. Every fissure that opened up Grant leapt over. He was closing in, dodging every rock thrown at him and leaping over any obstacle in his way.

Ryan cracked the ground and collapsed it inwards in front of Grant. The ground opened into a massive sink hole. Grant leapt impossibly high and cleared the whole sink hole in a single bound. The ground he landed on was starting to fall into the sink hole. Grant sprinted up the incline as the dirt fell down past him. When he reached the top he leapt into the air again, transforming the scythe into a giant flame hammer. He brought the hammer down and smashed the ground. Immediately the ground cracked open in lava fissures across the whole clearing.

The ground beneath Alice's feet became unstable. She wobbled, but kept her balance. Suddenly the earth in front of them cracked open and separated the whole group from the clearing where Grant and Ryan clashed.

"What are you doing, Grant?" yelled Alice. "Calm down or the whole forest is going to burn down!"

Ryan stumbled almost falling into a fissure. Down below he could see fire raging in an endless inferno. He backpedaled and reached for more solid ground.

The fissure suddenly blasted fire from its depths. Ryan shielded his face from the intense heat. As the fire began to subside Grant flew through the blaze with his spear held over his head.

Ryan fell on his back and quickly brought two stone slabs from the ground to shield him. The spear cracked through the stone and stopped just inches from his face.

Before Ryan could breath a sigh of relief the stone around the spear was rapidly melting. Ryan rolled out from underneath the slabs, but a glob of molten rock dripped onto his shoulder. Ryan swatted at the fabric of his shirt in a frenzy. The lava burned through his shirt and charred his skin before he could brunch it off.

Grant thrust his foot into Ryan's stomach. Ryan bent over clutching his stomach. Grant stabbed his sword into the ground causing a fissure to slowly expand beneath Ryan's feet.

"Any last words?" called Grant.

Percy gasped. "He's not really going to kill Ryan… Is he?"

"No. Never," said Kate. "There's no way he'd do something that extreme."

"It sure looks like…" began Leo.

"Hey," interrupted Kate. "I know my boyfriend. He's not a killer. According to that guy, the distinction of 'murderer' belongs to you."

Leo lowered his head. "I didn't know Gaia had any kids. Human ones at least."

"Nothing to say?" taunted Grant.

Ryan glanced at Grant's feet. "Actually, yes."

Grant looked down just in time to see the fissure had expanded quicker than anticipated. Ryan clasped his hands together and the tectonic plates crashed into each other, splashing lava in every direction.

"Only I am worthy of controlling the earth," said Ryan.

Grant dove out of the splash zone and covered his eyes. The lava landed on some of the nearby trees, setting them ablaze. Black smoke blew across the field, limiting Grant's field of vision to just a few feet.

Grant struggled to keep the smoke out of his eyes and took very few breaths. He heard a twig snap somewhere in the smoke. Grant swung his sword in all directions. Not a single swing connected with anything. Grant stood still and listened again. Besides the crackling of fire all was silent.

"Here."

Grant swung in the direction of the voice, but Ryan's forearm struck Grant's wrist. The sword tumbled out of Grant's hand as Ryan shoved him to the ground. Stone shackles bound his hands to the ground.

Ryan waved his arm. Waves of soft dirt crashed into the trees, snuffing out the fires. Ryan inspected his surroundings as the smoke slowly cleared.

Several fissures remained open and the ground bled magma. Ryan looked at the damage with disdain.

"I didn't intend to hurt any mortals," said Ryan, "but for you I'm willing to make an exception. How do you mortals always manage to break and wound the very earth you live on?"

Grant struggled to break free of his bonds. He responded to Ryan with silence. His eyes were still burning with rage.

"Pity such strength is wasted on you." Ryan turned to leave.

The sword flew into Grant's hand. He held its burning blade close to the shackles. Once the stone was partially melted Grant broke his hand free. He cut the other stone shackle at he chain.

The sword morphed into a longbow. Grant pulled the string back and an arrow made of fire appeared. Ryan still had his back turned, completely unaware.

The smoke finally cleared as Grant took aim at Ryan. Percy took a step forward to warn Ryan, but his foot almost slipped into a fissure. "Grant! Don't!" Percy shouted.

Grant let loose the arrow. Ryan summoned stones to coat his hands before turning and catching the arrow before it struck. The arrow sizzled and sparked in his hands. Almost too late, Ryan figured out what would happen. He threw the crackling arrow as far away as he could before it exploded into an inferno.

The wave of heat hit Ryan so hard he fell on his back. Grant knocked another arrow and took aim.

Without thinking Leo took a running start before jumping over the fissure. Grant let the arrow fly right at Ryan. Ryan covered his face and prepared for the inevitable. The arrow exploded on impact and the blaze blinded everyone.

Ryan opened his eyes to see why he was still alive. Above him stood Leo, his shirt charred, but otherwise unharmed.

"You… would risk your life… to save mine?" Ryan stammered.

"Don't mention it. Saving people is what I do," said Leo.

Grant pulled the bowstring back again. A small pebble bounced off his forehead and Grant fell to the ground unconscious.

"Bullseye," said Kate. Piper gave her a strange look. "What? If anyone was going to do it, it was going to be me."

"Uh, guys…" Leo said, "I don't think he's very thankful."

Ryan held Leo in a choke-hold. "Don't think this means you're forgiven," said Ryan. "If any of you attempt to follow me I will kill Valdez."

Piper stepped forward. "Let Leo go, Ryan. We can talk this out," she said, laying on as much charmspeak as she could.

"Don't bother," said Leo, "he shoved dirt in his ears. He can't hear a thing."

"You can't hide from me," Ryan continued. "As long as you are touching the ground I will find you. I will be back and I will bring my mother's army to destroy you."

With that, a pit opened up beneath Ryan. Leo and Ryan disappeared into the depths. Percy ran for the pit, but it sealed shut. All other fissures around the field closed and everything was quiet.

Grant sat up and yawned. "Morning guys." He noticed the half burned trees, the puddles of molten rock laying around, the snoring golem by the forest's edge and everyone staring at him with open mouths. "Uh, did I miss something?"

 ** _On the next episode of Percy Jackson and the Paragons 2: Tensions rise between the heroes as they try to come up with a plan to rescue Leo. Meanwhile, in his secret lair, Ryan comes home to an unwelcome surprise._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Welcome back to Percy Jackson and the Paragons 2. To recap, Percy and Annabeth take Leo and Piper on a trip to Maine to meet their friends, Grant and Alice. However their vacation is interrupted when Ryan, claiming to be the son of Gaea, ambushes them in the forest. Help arrives and Ryan retreats with Leo as his prisoner. What will become of Leo Valdez? Stay tuned to find out.**_

"Leo! We have to go after him."

"Gods, Percy, what did he do to Riptide?"

"What were you thinking, Grant!?"

"Did he say army? As in Gaia's army? Gaea's giant monster army?"

Harold took a few steps away from the others. "This isn't good," he said.

"I know," said Fiona. "I don't think we have enough food for all of these people."

Harold face-palmed. "The food is the least of our problems. The anger demon inside Grant is getting stronger. He won't be able to control it for long."

"Wait, what anger demon? Grant has an anger demon in him?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's been getting more and more aggressive since we've known him. The fire powers, the uncontrollable outbursts followed by amnesia, that has possession written all over it."

"I thought you didn't believe in demons, Mr. Illogical." Fiona playfully poked Harold's nose.

"Nothing is outside the realm of possibility in our line of work, Ms. Intangible." Harold waved his hand and it passed through Fiona's torso. "I just hope Grant can get rid of it soon. Who knows what could happen if a demon fully possesses his body."

"Everybody shut up!" Kate shouted. The crowd fell silent. "We're not going to let this Ryan guy get away with kidnapping 'whatsisface,' but right now we're sitting ducks in the middle of this field. Let's get back to the house and we can plan our revenge from there."

"Good idea," said Annabeth. "Lead the way."

Percy dredged along behind Annabeth carrying the shards of Riptide in his arms. "It just can't be possible, can it?" Percy said.

"What can't be possible?" Annabeth asked.

"Gaia, having a human kid. One that's our age, even." Percy dropped a piece of his sword on the ground.

Piper picked it up and handed the shard back to Percy. "Isn't your brother a cyclops?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," said Percy. "I guess godly beings can give birth to whatever they want."

"Maybe he's adopted," suggested Piper.

"Did you see how he controlled the earth?" Annabeth interjected. "I don't think that's something you can be taught. He has to be at least half Gaia's son."

"Then who's the dad?" Percy wondered.

"So let me get this straight," said Alice, fuming. "You made a deal with an evil demon bent on destroying all mankind, allowing it to live inside your head in exchange for fire powers?"

"That about sums it up," said Grant. "Except for the part where I saved all our lives with those fire powers."

"That was over a year ago, Grant." Alice turned on her heels to glare at her brother. "You had ample time to get rid of it, or better yet, tell us about it."

"I had him under control, until now. He said I had the willpower…"

"It," Alice corrected. "Anger is an 'it' not a 'he.' Don't humanize something that isn't human."

"I had it under control. Do you know how many lives I've saved since making that deal? This power is worth the cost."

"You're possessed, Grant!" shouted Alice. "You don't get it, do you? It is controlling you from the inside. Soon, you'll be just like the husk that Fear possessed."

"I'm not like that guy, Alice! I'm stronger, I'm smarter, I can do this."

"Do what, get yourself and everyone around you killed? You couldn't control yourself today, what happens when you lose your temper in a crowded area? What if we can't stop you next time?"

"I made a mistake, I know. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," said Alice. She lowered her voice to a whisper and turned away. "You just know that saying sorry will get you out of trouble. Well, not this time. You're not getting out of this one by saying it was for the greater good."

"I already said I was sorry. Doesn't that mean anything?"

"Not to me."

"Why not?" Grant grabbed Alice's shoulder.

"Because it doesn't mean anything to you!" Alice turned and pushed her brother away, her hands glowing brightly. Grant returned her gaze with fire in his eyes.

 _Are we really going to do this?_ Alice thought telepathically to Grant.

 _You know a fight between us would destroy this entire forest_ , Grant responded.

Alice sighed and unclenched her fists. She offered a hand to Grant. He hesitantly allowed her to help him up. "We can't afford to be at each others throats," said Alice. "Let's get that demon out of you when we get back to the house. And promise that from now on there are no more secrets, okay?"

"Yeah," said Grant, "I promise."

The group left the forest and arrived in an open field. At the other end of the field was a huge cliff, dropping 200 feet down to the crashing waves below. In the middle of the clearing was a large white mansion with a light blue roof.

"Whoa, this is where you guys live?" Piper asked.

"We needed a house big enough to support at least six people and far enough away from civilization so that we don't accidentally destroy any cities while we practice our powers," explained Alice.

"Eight bedrooms, three bathrooms, a massive living room decorated with the finest furniture in the land, and a state of the art training facility below ground," said Kate. "No expense was spared on this beautiful chateau of luxury."

Kate stepped onto the front porch just as the sun set behind the trees. She swung the door open and motioned for everyone to go in. Alice took the first step inside and flicked he light switch to her left. Nothing happened.

"Aww, I forgot about the lights!" she said.

A gremlin scurried past Piper's leg. "Aaah!" she screamed. "What is that thing?"

"Pets?" Percy asked.

"Pests," Grant corrected.

"I'll get the lantern," said Kate as she trudged inside. She walked down the hallway.

"Might I suggest we gather our wits at the kitchen table?" Harold suggested.

Annabeth nodded. "Right, we need a plan if we're going to rescue Leo."

Kate put a dusty old lantern in the center of the table. The flame inside barely lit the faces of those gathered around the table.

Percy laid the shards of Riptide out across the table.

"Yeah, just put those sharp pieces of metal on our hardwood dining table, that's cool," said Kate without an ounce of sympathy.

"Where do we start?" asked Alice.

"We go over any information we have on this Ryan character," said Harold.

All eyes fell on Annabeth. "He said he was the son of Gaia," said Alice. "Is that something you can confirm?"

"I honestly don't know," Annabeth replied. "Her other kids were giants that threatened to destroy the gods."

"Yeah," said Percy, "they almost did it, too. It took a demigod and a god working together to defeat them."

"Umm, we don't have gods on our side," interrupted Kate. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"It's certainly not going to make this easier," said Annabeth. "I wonder if the same rules apply to a demigod child of Gaia."

"We can try hitting him a few more times," said Percy. "That works most of the time."

"He has Leo, Percy. We can't just take him head-on again."

"And we can't just stand around while Leo is in danger."

"I want to save Leo as much as you do, but we need to know what we're up against first."

Percy lowered his head. He stared at Riptide on the table. If his sword wasn't broken he would be out there now searching for Leo.

Alice noticed Percy's stare. "I'm sorry about your sword, Percy," she said.

"Thanks," said Percy, "it was a gift."

"What's the big deal?" asked Kate. "It's just a sword, can't you just get another one? I thought you demigods had all sorts of weapons."

"Take it easy, Kate," said Grant. He locked eyes with Percy. "My dad gave me this," he patted his pocket where his weapon was safely stored in the form of a small dagger. "It was the last thing he gave me before…" Grant couldn't finish his sentence. For the first time in years he was getting choked up. "I know I couldn't bear to lose it. It must be hard to have Riptide broken like that."

"Actually, what if I said I could help restore it?" Alice murmured.

"What?" Percy asked. "You mean like, reforging it or something? Is that a thing?"

"If there was a way to reforge Riptide," stated Piper, "Leo would know how."

"I know a thing or two about blacksmithing," interjected Harold.

"You do?" said Fiona. "You're a bigger nerd than I thought."

Harold was very familiar with speaking to Fiona in a way that anyone within earshot thought he was talking to them. "I read a few books on the subject in the very likely circumstance that Grant broke his own weapon."

"I'd take offense to that if you weren't so well prepared," said Grant. He gave Harold a friendly punch on the arm.

Harold just stared at the spot he punched. He checked really quick for bruises, then said, "Don't ever do that again."

"Got it. No touchy."

"I'm not quite sure how Greek blacksmithing works, but I might be able to replicate a forge," said Alice. A fireball flickered in her hands.

"That should do just fine," said Harold. "I'll go gather stones in the backyard to use as a furnace." Harold ran outside in a hurry. Fiona lethargically followed.

"Sorry, kinda have to follow this guy," she said to the group. Of course, they couldn't see or hear her. "Have fun with whatever else you're doing." She went through the wall and after Harold.

"Okay. We can fix Riptide," said Grant. "What's next?"

"I say we prepare for war," said Kate.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"The dude said he'd be back with an army, right? We need to set some traps or something, you know? Batten down the hatches."

"I thought we were going to find Leo."

"Think about it, Percy," said Grant. "How would we even find them?"

"I don't know… Hazel! She can sense things underground right?"

"We were ambushed in the forest," said Annabeth. "Ryan could easily do the same to any of our friends if we get them involved."

"So we just leave Leo?"

"There's nothing we can do for him, right now," said Piper. "The second we know where he is I'll be right there with you. Besides, Leo's crafty. I'm sure he has some plan up his sleeve."

Okay, I have no idea what I'm doing, thought Leo. Ryan shoved him forward through a vast network of underground caves. Every time Leo thought he was seeing daylight at the end of a tunnel it turned out to be a torch and even more caves. Leo normally doesn't have claustrophobia, but being underground with walls only six inches on either side will make any man hate small spaces.

"Are we there yet?" Leo asked for the 257th time. He counted.

"NOOO!" Ryan shouted. His voice echoed through the tunnels. "How are you so irritating?"

"Lots of practice," said Leo.

"Why did I ever take the mud out of my ears?" Ryan grumbled.

"Are we there yet?" 258. This was also Leo's 258th attempt at reaching for his tool belt. His hands were bound at the wrist with thick vines. His fingers were just touching the edge of the pouch, but he couldn't reach inside it yet. He kept at it, hoping Ryan wouldn't notice.

"Left," ordered Ryan.

Leo turned left down another tunnel. This time, instead of another cave Leo saw a torn red tarp at the end of the tunnel. Light was shining from behind it and Leo could hear voices. As he got closer the smell hit Leo hard. He struggled to close his nostrils through sheer force of will, but the smell still burned his nose. It smelled like old farts inside a jar with a skunk.

"Keep going." Ryan pushed Leo through the red tarp.

Leo tripped and fell on his side. He rolled on his belly and looked up at his new surrounding. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The tunnel had opened up into a massive cavern. Thousands of monsters wandered about. Cyclopes sat around a bonfire eating suspicious looking meat. An empousai chased a mouse between makeshift tents. Leo even seen a hydra bathing in what looked like an old fountain.

"What is this place?" Leo asked.

"This is our home now," Ryan said as he lifted Leo back to his feet. "After you and your friends killed my mom the monsters in her army retreated underground."

"You live with a bunch of monsters? Don't monsters usually, like, eat demigods?"

"It's called respect, Valdez. I don't expect you to have any notion of it."

Leo and Ryan walked across the cavern floor. Leo decided it was best to avoid the gaze of all the salivating monsters surrounding him. Ryan glared at a few of them and they'd back away with a scoff.

They finally came up to a wooden shantytown. Ryan walked up to the largest structure and walked inside. Leo followed him cautiously. Inside was an array of demigod possessions hanging from the walls. Celestial bronze weapons, scraps of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter t-shirts, and a couple satyr horns adorned every surface.

Ryan walked up to a door near the back of the house. "You stay here," he said.

"Wasn't planning on going anywhere," replied Leo. Even if he could get his hands free there was an entire monster army outside that wanted to serve him up with a side of mystery meat and mouse soup. Leo found a comfortable spot on the floor and took a seat.

Ryan stepped through the door. Inside a lone cyclops wearing an old civil war officers' uniform and a green beach towel over his shoulder stood staring at a map of the United States on the table in the center of the room.

The cyclops looked up from the map as Ryan entered the room. "Well, the prodigal son returns unsuccessful yet again," the cyclops said.

"Harkus, blunt as ever I see," said Ryan.

"How was you little excursion to the demigod camp? Eye-opening I hope," said Harkus. He pointed to a spot on the map near Long Island Sound.

"Far more rewarding than your labors here."

"Ah, I take it you've embraced your people, then? Are you going to leave us for your kin amongst the surface?"

"I would never join the mortals, Harkus. I was there merely for information. I waited for an opportunity to strike."

"Yes, waiting seems to be something of a hobby of yours."

Ryan slammed his fist on the table. "Are you insulting me to my face?"

"You certainly haven't inherited your mother's intelligence," replied Harkus. "I am merely reminding you of your history of being late."

"I was not ready," said Ryan. He thought back to that day almost two years ago.

"Gaia bred you for a purpose. When the day came to fulfill your purpose you hesitated and she fell."

"Do not blame her death on me!"

"No? Then who, the giants who sacrificed their lives to allow Gaia to rise? The armies that fought to their deaths defending her?"

Ryan stayed silent. His anger seethed inside him. The entire cavern shook slightly.

"All you had to do was handle a few demigods. Even you couldn't have failed at that."

"There were hundreds of them! I was not strong enough to kill them all."

"That's because, despite your mother's training, despite her blood running through your veins you are a mortal. Just. Like. Them." Harkus produced a dagger from his belt and stabbed it into the map right where Camp Half-Blood was.

Ryan trembled with rage. He brought his fist down on the table and split it in half. "I will not forget this, Harkus. You will pay along with the rest of them."

Ryan turned and left. He grabbed Leo by the collar of his shirt and pulled him outside.

"I take it things didn't go well," said Leo.

"Silence! We're leaving."

"Oh good, if I had to take one more whiff of that awful smell I was seriously going to vomit all over…"

The vines on his wrists grew and covered Leo's mouth.

"Finally…" Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and led Leo back into the maze of tunnels.

 ** _On the next episode of Percy Jackson and the Paragons 2: Ryan and his prisoner arrive at a place all too familiar to Leo as the demigods and paragons prepare their defenses for a monster army._**


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 2 Chapter 3**

"Not exactly the nice weekend getaway I was hoping for."

"Me neither."

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing but haircare uses for unicorn spit."

"Gross."

After fixing the house's electricity Annabeth and Alice searched through the mansion's library. Annabeth spread out several books on Greek culture across the table. A dozen tomes floated around Alice as she magically flipped through the pages.

"There's actually some interesting stuff in here," said Alice.

"I don't want to hear a word of it," said Annabeth.

"Suit yourself," said Alice. She put a bookmark in between the pages and moved on to the next book.

"So…" said Annabeth peeking over the edge of her book, "how are you?"

"Fine." Alice ran her finger along the page. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Can't think of anything to talk about?"

"Not a single topic."

"Me neither."

Annabeth sighed. "It seems like every time we make new friends there's some crisis that stops us from actually having fun."

"I totally understand," Alice put her book down. "There's never a moment of peace anymore. Sometimes I miss having a normal childhood."

"That's something I never had," Annabeth leaned forward in her chair. "I've been running from monsters for as long as I can remember."

"I'm sorry," said Alice.

"Don't be." Annabeth straightened up her posture. "It all worked out fine. I ended up at Camp Half Blood, met Percy, and saved the world. Twice. Looking back on it, I wouldn't change a thing."

Alice smiled. "It's good to have no regrets."

"What about you?" Annabeth asked. "Do you have any regrets?"

"Dating David, for one," Alice joked.

"Really? I think he's kind of sweet, in a goofy, silly way."

Alice took a seat across from Annabeth. "I do love him, and he's an amazing teacher, but sometimes he gets too 'out there' even for me."

"Speaking of which, where is David?"

"Oh, he's touring with his polka-rock band in Europe."

"Polka-rock band?"

"It sounds exactly as you imagine it would."

Annabeth and Alice shared a laugh.

"What about Matt? I haven't seen him around either," said Annabeth.

"He decided to take some personal time to travel the world and find his true calling."

"Wow, sounds nice."

"That's what I said." There was a brief moment of silence between the two.

"Do you think we will ever be able to move on with our lives like that?"

"Hmm?" The question caught Alice off guard. "What do you mean?"

"You know, like, no more fighting." Annabeth had the most sincere look on her face. "I thought that we were done with that part of our lives after Gaea, but here we are in another conflict, fighting for our lives."

Alice shifted uncomfortably. "You know what they say, 'no rest for the wicked.'"

"But, we did our part. I want to go to college with Percy, settle down and have a life. Now I don't even know if Percy is getting accepted. When does the fighting stop?"

Alice cleared her throat. She was never good at reassurance. Usually, she was the one lacking confidence. "Well, statistically, there are more women admitted to college than men…"

Alice saw the look on Annabeth's face and her voice trailed off. "Alright, we've both been through a lot in our lives. More than any sane human being should have to endure." Alice looked right into Annabeth's eyes. "I admit that I don't know if the fighting ever stops, but even if it doesn't you'll always be able to face it. You're the strongest person I've ever met. I watched you fearlessly charge into battle against a primordial being to save your boyfriend."

Annabeth smiled. "I couldn't let Seaweed Brain get himself killed, right?"

"Absolutely right." Alice grew more excited. "Maybe the boys can wield a sword better than we can, but you and me, we're the fighters. Sure a villainous rock-throwing demigod kidnapped one of our friends, but that doesn't mean we're going to give up. We will do what we do best and fight, not just for our friends, but for our future."

"Okay, you've convinced me," laughed Annabeth, "You can get off the table now."

Alice looked down and realized she was standing on her chair with one foot on the table. She sat back down, her cheeks as red as an apple.

"That was a great speech," said Annabeth. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," said Alice quietly, "please?"

"Then what happened?" asked Grant excitedly. He and Percy were out on the front lawn placing traps.

"The hydra had us cornered, right?" Percy told the story as he remembered it. "It's fangs were dripping with poison. We thought we were dead and then the craziest thing happened."

"Well, stop stalling and tell me."

"Clarisse shows up, with a ship full of dead guys, and blows it up with cannons."

"Haha, typical Clarisse," chuckled Grant. "By the way, who's Clarisse?"

"Where do I start? She's a daughter of Ares…"

"Say no more, I understand the type."

"She's honestly not as bad as she seems."

"I'll take your word for it. We've already got one war goddess on our team," Grant joked, but he glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one heard.

"Umm…"

"Kate. I'm talking about Kate."

"Oh, right." Percy laid another trap on the ground. "When did that happen anyways?"

"Me and Kate? It's a long story. I asked her if she wanted to hunt down monsters and save the world on a daily basis and she said yes."

"It was that simple?"

"Nah, I left out the boring parts."

"She just joined willingly?" Percy asked.

"Why not? We have an amazing job. What could be cooler than fighting evil everyday?"

"What about the dangerous parts? I've been to Tartarus, I know the whole 'fighting evil' thing isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Grant sat down on the porch steps. "I know," he said in the most serious tone Percy ever heard him in. "It's not always easy, but it's still a role I was born for." Grant held up his wrist. On it rested a silver and bronze watch decorated with runic symbols. Instantly, the watch transformed into a longsword of the same materials. "You know my weapon can transform into anything, right?"

"I thought it was just restricted to weapons," said Percy in awe.

"It was," responded Grant with pride, "until I figured out how to remove that restriction." He swung the sword a couple of times to get a feel for its weight. "Anyway, did you know that it has a name? Like your Riptide."

"What is it?"

Grant held the sword out flat. Along the blade the runes appeared to move and change shape, finally spelling the word 'Invictus' in English.

"Wow," said Percy. "I've always been meaning to ask you where you got that."

"It was a gift," said Grant, "from my father. He gave me this weapon and with his dying breath he told me it was my birthright."

"So, your dad…" Percy said, sympathetically.

"Yeah, my dad's dead," said Grant, bluntly. "Mom, too, I think. Never met her, but I don't think anyone involved with us has a long life span."

"I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"It's no problem, really. I've accepted what happened, but my dad's last words always come back to me. If this weapon was my birthright, then I was always meant to be doing this."

Percy sat next to Grant. "Is that why you do all this dangerous stuff?"

"I feel like it's my duty, in a sense, to do the things that others can't. To protect everyone from the most terrible monsters that stalk the darkness. And one day my legend will be known."

Percy and Grant let that last sentence hang in the air for several moments.

"Do you think we have enough traps?" asked Percy.

"Oh yeah, way more than enough."

"Guys!" Annabeth shouted. "We found something!"

Annabeth and Alice ran excitedly through the door. Alice was carrying several thick books. Annabeth held a pad of yellow note paper covered in hurried scribbles.

"Look at this," said Alice, dropping the books on the porch.

Annabeth showed her notes to Percy and Grant.

"Is that… a rock?" Percy asked.

"Not just any rock," said Alice. "These books are referring to it as the 'Heart of the Earth,' AKA Gaia."

"Some of these texts aren't even Greek," said Annabeth, "but they all refer to this as the source of Gaia's ability to manipulate the earth. One even says this ability can be partially gifted to whoever Gaia desires."

"Wait, could that be where Ryan got his ability to control rocks?" Percy asked.

"It's possible," said Alice. "We'd need to do some more research to know for sure, but at least now we've got a lead." Alice noticed the array of traps laid out in the yard. "Why are all our rakes in the lawn?"

"Why do you have so many rakes?" Percy asked.

"We live next to a forest," explained Alice. "There's a lot of leaves in the Fall."

"I thought you guys were setting traps," said Annabeth.

"Oh, we did," said Grant. "Check these out. The army comes marching in and _Whap!_ they step on a rake and the handle hits them in the face."

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard," said Alice.

Annabeth shook her head. "Really, Seaweed Brain? What if the army steps around the rakes?"

"They won't know it's a trap unless they've watched old Saturday morning cartoons," said Percy. "Plus, there's something else you should look at."

"A rake to the face won't stop an army of monsters, Percy."

"Okay, but there's really something else we added…"

"Grant, just pick up the rakes and we'll find some other way to slow them down," said Alice.

"No, just listen for a second and we'll tell you…"

"About what? How you got this idea from Tom and Jerry? Or Looney Toons?"

Grant frowned. "Fine, I guess I'll let you go pick them up."

"Ugh, fine I'll go get them." Alice walked over to the first rake and bent over to pick it up.

"Wait!" Percy yelled.

At the last second Alice noticed the small electrical device attached to the end of the handle. As her finger got close, the device shocked her hand. "Ow! What is that?"

"I tried to tell you," said Grant. "We have the rakes on hinges and strung some conductive wire between them with a trip sensor activated high voltage generator."

"When the monsters step on one the rakes all flip up like an electric fence," explained Percy.

"Huh, not bad Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth.

"Yup, the electric fence was my idea," said Percy proudly.

"No it wasn't. It was my idea," said Grant. "Well the rakes part anyway."

"Hopefully this will keep the monsters back for a little while," said Alice, still holding her hand. "We'll start looking for a way to neutralize Ryan's powers."

"That only leaves Riptide," said Annabeth.

"I'll go check on Harold," said Percy. "Maybe he finished the forge already."

"Good idea, I'll go see what Piper and Kate are up to," said Grant. "Let's go team." He clapped. "Break!"

"Ready for this?" Kate asked.

"Oh yeah, let's do it!"

Kate flipped a switch. In front of Piper four holographic targets appeared. Piper aimed the gold inlaid pistol she was loaned by Kate. She made four shots.

Kate walked forward to inspect the damage. "Hmm, three out of four. Not bad."

"I told you I could do it."

Kate chuckled. "That was only stage one, Pipes. You'll need to do better than that to survive stage two."

"Wait, survive?" Piper said.

"Heads up." Kate tossed Piper another gun. Piper barely caught it.

Kate dashed to the side of the room and flipped another switch. A holographic Minotaur appeared in the middle of the room. It's red eyes locked with Piper's. Piper silently gulped.

"Remember to keep your cool out there. And keep your grip on those guns. I don't want to see a single scratch on Thelma or Louise when I get them back!" shouted Kate.

The Minotaur charged at Piper. Piper waited to the last second before diving to the left. The Minotaur came screeching to a halt. Upon rolling to her feet Piper trained the guns on the Minotaur. She fired three times. Each shot hit the Minotaur right between the horns. It howled before lowering its head and charging again.

"It's not going down!" Piper shouted.

"Sometimes they take more than one shot. Don't lose focus just yet," coached Kate.

Piper dived out of the way before the Minotaur got close. This time the Minotaur grasped her leg and hefted her into the air. Piper dropped both guns on the floor. She was now face to face with the Minotaur. Piper hurriedly swung the cornucopia from her back into her hands and blew. The Minotaur was crushed under a torrent of fruits, vegetables and turkey. Piper dropped to the ground and prepared for the Minotaur to charge again, but his time it stayed down.

"Unconventional, but good job," said Kate. "You're a fast learner. Maybe you're ready to see the magnum opus after all."

Piper blew the smoke from each of the guns. "I'm so ready."

"Cool it down Miss Badass. First, my guns." Piper handed Kate back her weapons. "We'll have to find you something else to use when the army comes. These two are mine and mine only."

"I don't know if guns will work on monsters," said Piper.

"With these they will." Kate pulled a handful of bronze plated bullets from her pocket. "Had a few of these ordered when I heard about Greek monsters. I've got silver bullets, bullets coated in holy water, bullets with a cross carved in them, and now bronze bullets."

"You guys are prepared for anything, aren't you?"

"Pretty much have to be. Anything can happen out there in the field. You have to stay cool and face yours fears sometimes."

"I can handle fear."

"Yeah, I heard about your experience in Greece with Phobos's lair or whatever," said Kate. "I don't doubt you're the most fearless person on the planet."

"That's high praise coming from someone without demigod blood or special powers who fights monsters."

"The how we fight is no where near as important as the why, dear Piper."

"Then why do you fight?"

"No, you just met me, you don't get to know the answers to those kind of questions just yet," said Kate sternly. "Let's just see how you do with the unveiling of my masterpiece."

Kate led Piper to a locked metal cabinet. "It was my idea to start with," started Kate. "I gave some schematics I drew up to Harold, who double checked the physics of it and gave me the thumbs up. After several months I had a prototype, but it was still missing something. That's where David came in and gave it that extra oomph. Now, I present to you… The Angel."

Kate opened the cabinet.

"Whoa," said Piper in awe. "Is that…?"

"It sure is."

"Does it really…?"

"Yup."

"Can I…?"

"Nope."

Kate shut the cabinet, snapping Piper out of a trance. "That is the single coolest thing I've ever seen," said Piper.

"It's even better when it's turned on." Kate looked into Piper's eyes. "Can I tell you something, Pipes?"

"Sure, anything," said Piper. She usually only let Leo or Jason call her Pipes, but Kate was nice enough to allow an exception.

"When you first got here, I figured you for the preppy girl, being the daughter of a movie star and all. Thankfully, you've proven me wrong." Kate grabbed Piper's hands. "These are not the hands of someone whose been pampered their whole life. I can tell you're not afraid to get your hands dirty and I respect that in you."

"Aww, thanks. I didn't think I could trust you guys at first, but you proved me wrong too."

"It's good to be wrong, right?"

"Right," said Piper. Kate opened her arms wide for a hug. Piper hesitated for a second then hugged her back.

"Ahem," said Grant, "am I interrupting anything?" He stood in the doorway to the training room.

Kate pushed out of the hug and resumed her steely tone. "Girl talk, don't worry about it."

Grant noticed Piper gazing at the cabinet. "Aww, you didn't… Piper you know she's only nice to people when she wants something from them."

"Hey, that's my friend you're talking to," said Kate.

"Let me guess," continued Grant, " she showed you The Angel?"

Piper nodded, confused.

"Then you have something she wants. Maybe your charmspeak ability."

"Grant, seriously, I will break up with you if you keep talking," threatened Kate.

"You were trying to get her on your side weren't you?"

"Don't make me look like a bad guy, you're always doing this to me," Kate whined.

"It's over, just admit you lost."

Kate straightened her posture and all traces of sympathy left her voice. "Fine, you got me." She pushed past Grant on her way out the door. "Hope you enjoy being single again."

Piper looked back and forth between Kate and Grant, still unsure who to believe. When Kate was gone Grant came over and pat her shoulder. "Don't worry, she's a master manipulator. She does this kind of thing to everyone."

"I didn't just break you two up, did I?" Piper asked.

"Nah, she respects people who can challenge her. Just be firm around her and you two will get along well."

Piper sighed. "Nothing is ever simple around here, is it?"

"Nope," replied Grant, "but you learn to live with it."

"You could be helping, you know?"

"What? And interrupt this amazing workout you're having? I don't think so."

"You are the laziest ghost I've ever met," said Harold.

"When you never have to worry about your laziness affecting your body, you just go for it," said Fiona.

Harold lifted another rock and stacked it on top of the others.

"Alice is going to want her garden stones put back after this," said Fiona. Harold didn't say a word. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Harold silently stacked another stone around the makeshift forge.

"Ugh, fine I'll help." Fiona lifted a stone and begrudgingly put it next to the others.

"Thank you," chided Harold.

"You're like an evil genius," said Fiona, struggling to lift a rock.

"And you're neither, but look how swimmingly we get along."

"Heehee, yeah… Wait, did you just call me dumb?"

"Oh no, you're soooooo smart. Like, super smart."

"Wow, the sarcasm levels are off the charts."

Harold and Fiona laughed.

"See, I missed this," said Fiona. "The camaraderie between us. I missed having my friend around."

"Things haven't been that simple lately, Fi. I wish we could go back to the days when all we had was time to laugh and have fun. However, now we have actual responsibilities. We have a duty to help people."

"Yeah, but we need to take some time for ourselves. Not every minute needs to be devoted to someone else."

Harold stacked the last stone on the forge. "There is so much we have to offer, Fi. It'd be a crime to keep our special talents to ourselves."

"The world will still be spinning if we decide to take a break once in a while," said Fiona.

"But what we do can change the world for the better. Don't you want to make a difference?"

Fiona crossed her arms. "There's only one difference I want to make right now."

Harold looked over Fiona with an analyzing gaze. "What is wrong with you? You're acting erratically."

"Me?!" Fiona exclaimed. "You are the one who got all high and mighty once you started saving the world. News flash: the world doesn't need you, I do!"

Harold was shocked. "That… is no excuse. You pulled at my heartstrings for years. I finally told you how I felt and you rejected me, but you still want all of my attention? How much more do you have to take from me, Fi?"

"I want my best friend back. Not this new person you've become."

"This new person is your friend, Fiona. Or was your friend," Harold turned his back on Fiona. "Maybe we've just outgrown each other," he said. "Just… go haunt someone else. I've got work to do."

"Umm, I could come back later," came a voice from behind him. Harold turned to see Percy standing where Fiona had stood. She was no where in sight. "if you need some time to yourself."

Percy awkwardly walked away.

Harold sighed. "I almost feel jealous of Leo right now."

Leo woke up hoping the whole thing was just a dream. He felt dirt sliding against the back of his head. Ryan held his foot and dragged him forward through the tunnels. "Don't you ever sleep? Seriously it's like 3 in the morning."

"Perfect. That means less opposition," responded Ryan.

"Opposition to what?"

The tunnel opened up to a staircase leading above ground. Ryan dragged Leo up the stairs, hitting his head on each step. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow…"

Once above ground Leo bathed in the moonlight. He had been underground for so long he thought he was becoming paler by the minute.

"Finally," said Ryan. "Now, you will begin to see what is in store for you, Valdez."

Leo investigated his surroundings. A tall white structure supported by beautiful columns lay before him.

"Is that the Parthenon? Are we in Greece? You dragged me all the way to Greece?!"

"In the labyrinth even the longest distances can be crossed in a few strides," said Ryan as he pulled Leo inside the Parthenon.

"I thought the labyrinth existed under America."

"True, but a few forgotten paths still lead to the old world. It is how Gaia moved her giants across the ocean so quickly."

"Huh, you learn so much when you're being held prisoner by a maniac. Who knew?"

Ryan dropped Leo on the ground and sat down. "It's nothing personal Leo, I would have taken any of you hostage. It just happens that you were the easiest to capture."

Leo reached again for his tool belt. With each strain the vines binding his hands became looser and looser. His fingers grazed the zipper. With another attempt Leo caught the zipper between his middle finger and index finger. He quietly pulled the zipper open. "Uh huh, that's fantastic… just great."

Leo reached inside and hoped for anything that would get him free. He grasped something and pulled it out, getting a feel for what it was. He felt the pointy end of a Swiss Army knife. In silent joy, Leo sawed at the vines on his wrists. With a quiet snap the vines fell to the floor. Leo immediately got to his feet and made a break for the tunnel.

Suddenly, Leo's vision went black and he fell to the floor. Leo's whole head hurt. He brought his hand to his face and felt blood streaming from his nose. Ryan stood above him, his fist covered in Leo's nose blood.

"There are easier ways of getting blood from you," said Ryan. "That was for your big mouth."

Ryan picked the Swiss Army knife from the Parthenon floor and brought it to his own hand. With a quick motion Ryan cut the palm of his hand and let the blood drip to the floor.

"Gaia!" Ryan yelled. "I offer you the blood of two demigods! Rise again and take vengeance on these fools!"

Ryan's cries were met with silence. Even the Greek crickets were quiet.

"Mother! Come back! The ritual is complete again!" Ryan tried again. Nothing happened.

Leo slowly got to his feet. He looked back to see Ryan drop to his knees.

"Mom! I need you! Gaia! Please, come back!" he pleaded with the sky.

Leo looked back and forth between the stairs and Ryan. Finally, he sighed. "I'm going to regret this aren't I?"

Ryan put his head in his hands. Leo slowly approached him. "You must think I'm so pathetic," said Ryan, sounding utterly defeated.

"Actually, I know what it feels like to lose a mom," said Leo. "My mom died when I was young. A fire actually… that your mom started."

"Mortal lives are so fragile. She was going to die eventually anyway."

"Gee, thanks."

Ryan fought back tears. "She brought me into this world and taught me how to be strong," he said. "I disappointed her. I wasn't strong enough to overcome my mortal failings."

"Hey, we mortals kind of take offense to that."

"To you she was just an enemy, but to me, she was the only guiding figure in my life."

"There there," said Leo, patting Ryan on the back. "Tell uncle Leo all about it."

"I was born in darkness far underground. She assured that I was taken care of properly. She whispered me to sleep every night. She taught me everything I needed to know about the mortal world, about demigods, and monsters. Then, on my seventh birthday she left me in the forest that night."

"That sounds pretty harsh, even for Gaia."

"It was a test. I cried out. I wept for hours under the shelter of an old tree. All night I could hear something moving in the forest. It was watching me. The wolf could smell my weakness from miles away and it stalked me the whole night. I tried to run, but it lunged at me."

Ryan lifted his shirt, revealing three claw marks on his abdomen. "It got one good scratch in before I strangled it with the roots of the old tree."

"Yikes," said Leo. "Talk about bad parenting."

"She was teaching me to be strong. I learned of my gifts that night. Roots, vines, anything that grows in the soil is my ally. She chastised me for not killing the wolf sooner. She commanded that the soil heal all my wounds except this one. This was to be a reminder of what happens when I fail."

"And I thought Chiron was hard to impress. Sounds like you had it rough."

"That was just the first night. Every night from then on was a fight for survival. Mother would leave me in the forest and send increasingly vicious monsters at me. I slew them all. For years I slew every wolf, every cyclops, every hydra that came for me. By the time I proved my worth, I wasn't afraid of the monsters anymore."

"I wish I could say the same. Cyclops still give me chills."

"Mother said she had a gift for me. She led me through the underground tunnels to a hidden cavern. There the land grew in lush brilliance, the way it was meant to, before the gods changed everything. A world untouched by man or gods lay beneath our feet and mortals would never know. It was there that she presented me with a stone of pure earth. It held the very essence of Gaia's being in a single core. In my hands I could feel her heartbeat. It changed me forever. Now I was one with the earth. It would obey my commands just as it did Gaia's."

"So, that's where you learned to do that."

"Yes, with the strength of my mother behind me I joined the monsters I no longer feared. They continued my training beyond just survival. I fought with the fury of the earth, unbridled primal rage. And yet, when it came time to confront my destiny by aiding my mother's resurrection I faltered. The Giants were the anti-gods and I was the anti-demigod. The one thing my mother never counted on was my father's legacy."

"Wait, who is your father?"

"I don't know. Mother always hid him from me. She said he was an influence she did not want for me."

"Everyone deserves to have a dad. If your mom is gone she can't keep you from him anymore."

Ryan lifted his head. "Perhaps you are right, Valdez. I may have underestimated you." He got to his feet and headed back to the tunnel.

"Where are we going now?" Leo asked.

"To find my father."

"Can we make a stop by Camp Half-Blood along the way? I need to get some sleep."

"Not on your life, Valdez. You still owe me for killing my mother. You're coming with me."

Ryan grabbed Leo's arms and pushed him to the tunnels.

"Alright, but no vines this time. Those things hurt."

 **Next time on Percy Jackson and the Paragons, Ryan and Leo begin their search for Ryan's lost father while the Paragons and demigods get some much deserved rest.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Having fun?"

Annabeth looked up from the myriad of books around her and saw Percy standing in the doorway. "You could say that," she said.

"Wow," said Percy as he examined the library. "I don't think I've ever seen this many books in my life."

"I know. It's such an amazing collection, isn't it?" Annabeth asked excitedly.

"Amazing isn't the word I would use." Percy sat across the table from Annabeth. "Terrifying is more like it."

Annabeth smiled. "I know of a few books that could change your mind."

"I haven't even gotten through the last list you gave me."

"Did you even start?"

"Uhhh… no. But you can't blame it on me, blame the dyslexia."

Percy reached across the table and held Annabeth's hand. Annabeth blushed. She moved the books to the side. "I like you the way you are anyways, Seaweed Brain. I wouldn't want you to get all intellectual on me."

Percy made a circle with his fingers and held it up to his eye like a monocle. "I say Reginald, these books are absolutely astounding. I've read fifty in the past hour. Can't get enough of them I say."

Annabeth laughed. "Is that what you imagine smart people are like?"

"Oops, forgot the mustache," said Percy. He put his finger below his nose. "There," he said in a fake British accent, "good as new. Bully!"

"Yup, the mustache definitely completed the look."

Percy and Annabeth laughed together.

Percy looked around the room some more. "Hey, where's Alice? I thought she was here with you."

Annabeth pointed to the aisle between two bookshelves where Alice lay curled up on the floor, her head resting on a thick tome. "She was getting tired, so I told her to get some rest while I did some more research. When Ryan comes back we'll be ready for him."

Percy frowned. He let go of Annabeth's hand. "I can't imagine what Leo's going through right now."

"We'll get him back, Percy." Annabeth leaned across the table and kissed Percy on the cheek.

"I know," said Percy. "I just hope he's okay." Percy patted his pocket where Riptide usually rested. "I hate not being able to do anything about it."

"We can prepare. Harold will fix Riptide, then we can make Ryan regret ever kidnapping our friend."

Percy slowly nodded. "I still don't get it, though. I talked to Ryan before we left. He seemed so normal."

"As normal as demigods go?"

"Exactly. I guess never being claimed by his godly parent was a big hint, huh?"

"He was probably spying on us, trying to get close to learn our weaknesses."

"Maybe…" Percy sat in silent contemplation.

"Some people are like that, Percy," said Annabeth. "They trick everyone into thinking they're one thing when they're really the complete opposite."

Percy sighed. "A year later and Gaea's still finding ways to mess with us."

"We managed to beat her once, we can beat her son, too."

Annabeth took Percy's hand.

"Promise?" he asked.

"Promise."

"Activate level three."

"Tier three training simulation activated. Good luck, Miss Forester."

Kate loaded a clip into her sniper rifle, Velocity. "Luck?" she muttered to herself. Kate ran her finger along the bayonet blade running down the barrel of the rifle. "Never heard of it."

A dozen holographic werewolves appeared in front of her. The werewolves were tall, skinny, and smelled like wet dog. Each one had fangs and claws that could shred a steak in two seconds. They snarled and snapped their jaws at Kate who simply smiled.

The computer voice counted down, "Three… Two… One… Begin."

The werewolves leaped into action. They galloped across the floor towards Kate. The first wolf rapidly closed the gap and came face to face with Kate. It opened its mouth wide bough to swallow Kate whole. It snapped at Kate and instantly disintegrated into a million tiny digital cubes on the floor.

Kate held Velocity in her hands tightly. The freshly pulled trigger vibrated slightly from the shot. The eleven wolves remaining hesitated before attacking. They encircled her and growled. The werewolves acted as a pack, working together to bring down large prey.

Kate estimated she had three seconds before the wolves attacked from all directions. One on her right was down on all four feet and crouched to the ground. As soon as the wolves attacked, Kate slid on her knees as the wolf jumped into the air. Kate held Velocity in he air as the wolf soared over her. Velocity's blade disintegrated the wolf before it hit the ground.

Kate got to her feet and fired two quick shots before he wolves could counter attack. The remaining eight wolves scattered and attacked without synchronization. One at a time, Kate shot the wolves before they could get close or waited until they lunged at her before cutting them down with the bayonet.

Kate saw Grant out of the corner of her eye. He was leaning against the wall clapping slowly. "Well?" Kate shouted at him. "What are you waiting for? You know you want in on this."

Grant removed his sword from its hilt and stepped forward.

Kate ran at another werewolf as it swung its claws at her. Kate ducked and stuck the butt of her rifle out to trip the wolf. Grant ran up behind Kate and stabbed the werewolf before it could get up, then dove over Kate to stab another. The final werewolf lunged at Grant. Grant ducked and revealed the barrel of Kate's gun pointed at the werewolf's chest. A single pull of the trigger and the fight was over.

Kate took a moment to catch her breath. "Those monsters won't know what hit 'em," she said.

"True, but I'm pretty sure an 'army' consists of more than 12 monsters," responded Grant.

"You always have to ruin the moment," said Kate. "Just let me enjoy this one."

"I can't help that I'm facetious." Grant playfully punched Kate's shoulder.

"Did I ever tell you how terrible your flirting is?" Kate punched Grant's shoulder so hard he stumbled backwards.

"Every day."

Kate shook her head and slung Velocity over her shoulder. "So what brings you down here? Couldn't be you just wanted to interrupt my training montage, could it?"

Grant rubbed his shoulder. "Actually, I only wanted to see what my favorite person in the whole world was up to."

"Oh really? I'm your favorite person in the world?" Kate stepped up to Grant and stared him down.

"You're not going to make me repeat that are you?" Grant said with a sly smile. "You're head's big enough without more flattery."

Kate dropped her rifle at her side. "No, but I'm going to need you to prove it." She gave Grant a wink.

"Okay," said Grant as he wrapped his arms around Kate's waist. "I can do that." Grant leaned in and Kate closed her eyes.

"There are billions of people on the planet, but I have only ever met like a hundred of them," said Grant.

"Huh?" Kate opened her eyes.

"Yeah, disregarding people I've met at school I'm left with the rest of the team and you," continued Grant. "Don't get me wrong, I like those guys, but…"

"You're such a dork!" Kate laughed.

"Hey, you said I had to ruin every moment."

"This was one of those moments where it is highly recommended you don't ruin it," said Kate picking up Velocity.

"There'll be plenty of moments for me to ruin later," said Grant, "but right now we're trying to decide who takes first watch tonight."

"Me, duh."

"That would be a good idea, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't think Percy, Annabeth, and Piper trust you." Grant immediately covered his face in fear of retaliation.

"Well, that makes sense," said Kate. "They just met me, what reason would they have to trust me?"

"That, and you didn't exactly make the best first impression."

"I wonder why that is?" said Kate, accusingly.

"Piper's still a little miffed you were being fake nice to her."

"Just because she thinks she's a princess doesn't mean everyone has to bow down to her."

"Wait, what? I didn't get that impression from her at all."

"Trust me, I know her type," said Kate. She placed Velocity on a bench and checked it over for damage.

"What type? She seemed pretty cool to me."

"Her dad's a movie star and her mom's the goddess of beauty. You don't have parents like that without letting it go to your head. Just watch, she'll prove just how prissy she can be soon enough."

"Hmm," said Grant, cautiously. "Maybe let's get to know them a little first before making judgements?"

"Whatever, don't say I didn't warn you." Kate loaded a new clip into her sniper. "Just know that if it ever comes down to you or her…" Kate fired a shot to the far side of the room, hitting a perfect bullseye on a diminutive target. "… she'll always save herself."

"You blew it, Fi. You really messed up bad this time."

"It was only a mistake. He will forgive you."

"He hates me, I know it."

"He just needs his space right now."

"I pushed him too far and now he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"That's not true. He loves you, remember?"

Fiona sat in the attic alone huddled against the window. Outside she could see Harold putting the finishing touches on his homemade forge. The moonlight flitted through the window, illuminating Fiona's already transparent body.

"We only dated for a little while and I broke up with him!" Fiona said to herself.

"Why did you do that? He's super nice."

"I know, but it was so weird! Like dating your brother."

"You two grew up together. You couldn't get any closer as friends than you and Harold."

"It worked when we were just best friends. We hung out all the time and there wasn't any pressure."

"What pressure? You don't have to impress him, just be yourself."

"Easy for you to say."

"I'm you!"

"And you're just as lazy as I am. So how will we get anything done?"

"By not being lazy, duh."

"That sounds hard though."

"Stop acting like a little kid! No wonder Harold is smarter than you."

"Maybe… Maybe he's right. Maybe we really did outgrow each other." Fiona looked out the window. Harold started a fire in the forge and was warming his hands. The fire illuminated his face just enough to show his proud smile.

"He… He never did need me. I was always just a distraction."

"Don't talk like that."

"But it's true! I always wanted to have fun while he was busy saving the world. He's going to go on to do amazing things, but I'm always going to hold him back."

"Only if you let yourself be a burden."

"That's all I can be," Fiona pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed. "Harold deserves so much better than a friend like me."

"You can't just give up. Show Harold that you can be a good friend. Win him back."

"How am I… going to do that?" said Fiona, in between sniffles.

"First off, stop crying. Second, if he thinks he's outgrown you, then maybe you should grow up a little."

"Like this?" Fiona willed her shape to change. She grew a few inches taller.

"Not exactly." Fiona returned to normal.

"Then what should I do?"

"You need to be just as smart and sophisticated as he is." Fiona listened intently. "Wear glasses and use big words. Or maybe smaller, smart-sounding words."

"Oh, how incredulous."

"Now you're getting it."

"Am I using that word right?"

"No idea, but it sounded fancy."

"I'm feeling so frumptitious right now."

"Not a real word, but you get the point. Now you need to march downstairs, walk straight up to Harold, and say you're sorry."

"Umm… Do we have to go right now? Can't we wait a few minutes? What if he comes up here and apologizes to me?"

"You can't always take the easy way out, Fi. Some problems can't be solved with laziness."

"No, but I can always put the hard work off for a little while longer until the problem solves itself."

"Not this time. You know it's the right thing to do."

"You… You're right. Fine, lets go apologize."

"Good, then after we'll celebrate with a pizza."

"Stuffed crust?" Fiona asked excitedly.

"You know it."

"Ooh, I can taste it already. Delicious pepperoni."

"And don't forget the mushrooms!"

"Eew, I hate mushrooms."

"But your conscience doesn't."

"Mushrooms are gross! They're like mini fungus trees."

"Have you ever eaten a mushroom? They're so good."

"The mushrooms I've had were terrible."

"Yeah, but they taste different on pizza somehow."

"Then it's the pizza that's delicious, not the mushrooms!"

Fiona shook her head. "That got off topic fast." She stood up and took one last look out the window. She took a deep breath. "Okay, time to go show Harold how mature I can really be."

"Hey."

"What do you want, Fiona?"

"Umm, I'm not Fiona."

Harold turned around to see Piper standing before him. "Sorry…"

"I just came to tell you Grant is taking first overnight watch. So, if you want to get some rest…"

"That's okay, I've still got plenty of work to do." Harold picked up pieces of furniture he had dismantled from around the house.

Piper saw the forge Harold made. "Wow, you made that? It looks just like the ones back at camp."

"It's still missing a couple of things," said Harold. "I need to assemble a bellows system or the forge will never achieve the desired temperature."

"It's still pretty impressive." Harold didn't respond. He kept trying to connect a lampshade to a broom handle. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yes, of course. I've plenty on my mind is all."

"Like Fiona?"

Harold put down his tools. "Yes, like Fiona."

Piper sat down on a log. "Want to talk about it?"

Harold sighed. "I'm told you're the daughter of Aphrodite. I'm not one for believing in gods, but in my line of work I'm forced to believe anything is possible. Perhaps your pedigree is indeed marked by the divine. In that case, I would welcome your expert opinion on a certain situation I find myself facing."

"I'm all ears," said Piper. "I'm not the best person to ask for advice on love, though."

"Sadly, I fear love is the exact opposite of what Fiona must feel."

"Who's Fiona? Is she your girlfriend?"

Harold hesitated before telling Piper about Fiona being a ghost. There was always a negative connotation associated with spectral beings. "She's… my oldest friend. We met when we were both very young and naïve. I've yet to meet anyone more free spirited than her. Her cheery smile never faded. She was as bright as the morning sun in my hour of darkness."

"Poetic," said Piper. "My mom would approve."

"This love story is purely one-sided. I revealed my feelings to her recently. At first she was delighted to hear of my affections. Soon she came to the realization that we were simply too different to be compatible."

"She broke up with you? I'm sorry." Piper put her hand on Harold's shoulder. "You seem like a nice guy. You'll find someone out there."

"I appreciate the sentiment. However, the story does not end there."

"Go on," Piper prompted.

"We decided to remain friends. I… may have been giving her a cold shoulder lately. She felt neglected and noted how she missed the times when we were friends." Harold stared at his feet. "I told her to leave. I chose to engross myself in work rather than allow myself to suffer the heartache of 'the friend zone.'"

"It sounds like you still love her."

"Like I've never loved anyone else," confirmed Harold. "By now she has to hate me for the way I've treated her."

"Can you talk to her? You both could try to talk it out. Tell her that you never meant to hurt her feelings. She might understand."

"Excellent advice, Miss McLane. If she is still willing to hear me out I will attempt to offer my apologies."

"Glad to help," said Piper. She stood up and stretched her arms. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get to a bed before I collapse."

"Good night, Miss Piper."

"Night, Harold. I hope things work out between you and Fiona."

Piper disappeared back into the house. Harold returned to his work. "I only hope she feels the same way," he whispered to himself.

"Finally, some time alone."

With Kate providing over watch from the roof, Piper using the guest bedroom and Alice, Annabeth, and Percy camping out in the library, Grant had the remainder of the house to himself. He took a deep breath and walked into the dining room. Grant took a seat at the dining table, staring at the flickering candle in front of him.

Grant closed his eyes and focused. He remembered being attacked by Ryan. He remembered being helpless to save his friends back in Salem. Finally, he remembered watching his friend Dawn being sucked into Pandora's Box along with the demon of Fear. All of these memories shared a single emotion: anger.

The flames of the candle grew brighter. The heat became too intense for Grant. He got out of the chair and took a few steps back. The candle flickered to life and took the shape of a human engulfed in flames.

"Hello, Grant. You called?" asked the demon. It's words echoed through Grant's mind in a thousand different voices, each one more terrifying than the last. Grant was too shaken to say anything. "Nothing to say, partner?"

"I… I think it's time we part ways… partner," Grant finally managed.

The demon laughed. If Grant didn't know any better he would have assumed the sound was a hippopotamus's growl. "That is not going to happen," said Anger simply.

"No," said Grant gathering his courage. "I've decided that I don't need you anymore."

"Was it your decision, Grant?" The demon leaned in closely. "Or was it that pesky sister of yours?"

Grant swallowed the lump in his throat. "You told me you needed a willing host. Well, I'm not willing anymore."

"Of course not. You'd never do anything to upset dear Alice," said Anger in a mocking tone. "Oh wait, you already have. On multiple occasions, actually."

Grant grunted. "Shut up, you've been controlling me for too long. Get out of my head!"

"I've done nothing to you. Everything that happened has been your own doing. Killing Ryan? That was your own desire. I simply gave you the means to do so."

"I'm not an idiot. I know what you are and what you do. You aren't going to control me anymore!"

Anger laughed again. "You're making this too easy, boy. Why don't you try again when you have a spine?" The flames in the candle started to die down.

"Wait!" Grant yelled. "You're not going anywhere."

The flames remained idle. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter."

"I won't let you walk away. This ends tonight!"

"And who are you to stop me?" The flames suddenly erupted. Grant fell backwards and scrambled to get away from the flames. "You are just a simple pawn. You have no power, no authority, over me! Every ounce of strength in your bones was gifted by me!"

Grant again felt powerless. This demon was right. Grant couldn't even touch a demon of the Box. The only one that could was Dawn and she was trapped for all eternity.

Grant let the rage envelop him. Nothing that he could do would bring back his friend and that made him angry. These demons infested the planet and there was nothing he could do about it.

Grant slammed his fist onto the floor. He glanced at his hand and, for the first time, noticed that he was engulfed in flames. But he didn't feel the pain. He didn't care either. He just wanted to take revenge on the demons for all that he'd lost. Nothing else mattered anymore.

Grant rose from the floor with fire in his eyes. The demon before him smiled.

"You are doing well, Grant," said Anger. "You will make a fine puppet."

Something rang at the back of Grant's mind. A tiny voice called to him. A memory he hadn't thought of in years suddenly came to the surface.

He was standing in the workshop trying to fit two metal pieces together. Grant pushed them as hard as he could. One piece slipped and cut his hand. "Ow! Stupid thing!" Grant threw the pieces off the workbench.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked. "Did that machine hurt you?"

"Oh," said Grant startled, "… Hey, Dawn. I didn't hear you come in."

"I heard sounds of a struggle. I thought you were in need of help."

"No, it's fine. Just having a tough time getting this grappling hook assembled."

"Grappling hook?"

"Yeah, just imagine being able to latch onto anything and zip towards it at high speeds. It'll be awesome!"

"I must still be getting used to modern customs," said Dawn shyly. "I do not see the appeal in that."

"You'll see if I can get it working. Only problem is getting the pieces to slide together." Grant kicked the metal railing on the floor. "This part needs to slide into the railing so the grapple can fire accurately."

Dawn picked the pieces off the floor. "You are getting frustrated?"

"Well, a little, yeah, I guess." Grant's checks became red. "I mean anybody would, right?"

Dawn put both pieces into place and gently slid them into their correct position.

"Whoa, how did you do that?" Grant asked.

"You cannot approach a problem with aggression," explained Dawn. "A gentle touch is often all it takes."

"Who said that, Hemingway?"

"No, me," said Dawn coyly. She left the room with a smile.

A tear came to Grant's eye. He remembered Dawn being so innocent. Nothing ever made her angry. All his rage melted away.

The tear evaporated in the heat. Grant snapped back to reality. He was on fire in the dining room being mocked by an evil demon.

"Come, Grant," motioned Anger. "There is much to burn."

"No."

The demon's smile faded. "You're back already? I'd hoped to destroy everything you loved by the time you snapped out of it."

"I'm no puppet," said Grant sternly. He let go of all his anger. The demon's flames became dim.

"We had a deal, Grant, remember?" Anger reached out to touch Grant's face, but the further it came from the candle the dimmer the flame got.

"The deal was 'you help me save my friends and I'll give you a host.' I think they're safer without you now," Grant said. He motioned towards the door.

"Be careful now, boy. Do not set me free and expect me to stay away," said Anger menacingly. "You cannot stop me from returning with a new host to destroy you."

"I know," said Grant calmly. "I'll try my hardest, but if you get me, so be it."

"But I won't destroy you first," said Anger. Grant took a step forward. "First, I will burn your friends." Grant stepped forward again. The candle flame retreated. "Then, I will burn your sister." Grant took another step forward as the flames diminished further. "Then, I will take that pretty girlfriend of yours!" Grant stood over the flickering remains of the candle. "Nothing will be safe from my wrath you pathetic worm!" Grant licked his fingers and snuffed out the flame.

Grant let out an exhausted sigh and collapsed to the ground. He crawled to the kitchen and leaned against the cupboards. Grant took a moment to collect his thoughts. He finally felt free, and not just from the demon. Sure it would be back for revenge eventually, but until then his friends were safe.

Grant struggled to open his mouth, but it was so dry from all the heat. Oddly enough, the dining room was completely unscathed by the conflagration. Grant licked his lips and tried to produce a sound. He put all of his thoughts into a single phrase. He opened his mouth and let the words come out.

"Well, that sucked."

Ryan led the way through the dark tunnels. Leo followed closely behind him. Sure Ryan was less inclined to kill him now, but that didn't mean Leo wanted to make him mad by trying to escape.

Leo could tell they weren't in the labyrinth anymore. The walls became solid bedrock. The air grew stuffier the further along they went and the temperature rose a degree every five steps.

Finally, a breeze blew through the cavern. It made Leo shiver. He was used to withstanding heat, but the air in the tunnels was near unbearable. The breeze wafted from further down the tunnel.

Leo hurried along past Ryan and ran to the end of the tunnel. Leo turned a corner and almost ran into the rocks burying the exit.

"It's a dead end," said Leo.

"No," said Ryan. "This is just the entrance."

Ryan waved his hand and the rocks parted to the side. Leo felt the cool breeze rush over his face. A pleasing aroma caught his attention. Leo looked inside the newly opened cavern.

"Whoa…" Leo said in awe. "Just… whoa."

"This is where I was raised," said Ryan. "This is Pangaea."

The cavern opened up into a vast expanse of trees and flourishing fauna. Giant prehistoric flowers covered the ground. A giant tree in the center of the oasis reached the ceiling and acted as a column to support the roof. Leo spied a waterfall and hot springs nearby. The place was a perfect paradise. It reminded Leo of Calypso's island, a place where every need could be tended to, except for your loneliness.

Besides the sound of rushing water or branches rustling in the wind, the whole cavern was eerily silent. Leo expected to see dinosaurs pop out of the bushes, but nothing moved. The whole cavern was devoid of any life besides plants. Even insects were nowhere to be seen.

"I get it," said Leo. "It's like Pangea, but with Gaea."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ryan.

"Nothing, just forget I said anything." Leo pointed to the giant tree. "What's that?"

"That is where we're headed."

Ryan walked off and into the brush. Leo trailed behind him, swatting branches out of his face. Delving further into the jungle gave Leo a sense of just how untamed this place was. Everything grew freely here. Purple flowers the size of a minivan emitted powerful odors. Leo stopped to smell each one out of curiosity. With every breath Leo wanted to stay forever. If it weren't for the lack of company, Pangaea would be a paradise.

Ryan pushed through the dense vegetation into a clearing just across from the giant tree. The tree was surrounded by a moat of fresh spring water.

"That's where your dad is?" asked Leo.

"I believe so," Ryan responded.

"And if I help you find your dad, you'll leave us demigods alone?"

"I'll consider it."

"Good enough, I guess." Leo took off his shoes. "Let's go for a swim."

"Wait!" Ryan held Leo by his shirt. "Don't touch the water."

"Why? Is it acid? Are there piranha in the water?"

"No, I just don't like water." Ryan lifted his hand and a stone bridge formed over the moat.

"Oh," said Leo slightly disappointed," yeah, that works too."

Leo and Ryan crossed the bridge to the base of the giant tree. With a wave of his hand Ryan spread the bark of the tree. Beneath the bark the tree was hollow. Inside the tree was an ornately decorated podium.

Leo walked up to the podium. In its center was a small shard of dark green rock. It vibrated slightly. Leo immediately reached out to touch it. It was almost like it was calling to him.

Ryan grabbed Leo's wrist before he could touch the stone. "Don't you dare touch that, Valdez," he threatened.

"What is that?" Leo asked. "It almost feels alive."

"That's the Heart stone," said Ryan. "It is the most concentrated piece of earth on the planet. It holds a sliver of Gaea's power within it. This is how Gaea bestowed my powers on me."

"I thought we were looking for your dad?"

"We are." Ryan pointed up. Leo looked and saw that the tree was hollow the whole way up. Along the sides of the tree were globs of bronze sap. Most of the globs were open. A few enormous globs of sap looked like something fought its way out from inside.

"This is where the Giants were born," said Ryan, "as well as the gods and Titans."

Leo shuddered. "So that means we're in Gaea's…"

"Nursery, Valdez," interrupted Ryan. "I was born here, too."

"Does it feel good to be home?"

Ryan sighed. "My memories of the nursery were not always joyful. It's where I was thrown into the wilderness to fight for myself."

"Right, forgot about that."

"If we have time I could show you where I strangled the wolf."

"I…" Leo stammered. "Yeah, I don't need to see that."

"Fine, lets get to searching these sap pods."

Ryan out his hand to the wall of the tree and closed his eyes. After a few seconds Ryan pulled his hand away. "The sap is too thick. I can't sense any of their contents."

"So we need to get up close and personal?" Leo reached inside his tool belt. He pulled out a few mechanical bits and got to work assembling them. He held up the finished invention. "Haha, grappling hook! I feel bad for anyone that doesn't own one of these."

Leo gave the grappling hook to Ryan. "Thank you, Valdez." Ryan gave Leo a hard pat on the shoulder.

"Oof! Don't mention it big guy. Now, go up there and find your long lost daddy."

Ryan aimed up and fired the grapple into the wall of the tree. The reel retracted and Ryan was whisked into the air and stopped next to a suspended pod.

"Anything?" Leo shouted.

"Not this one." Ryan moved onto the next closed pod. Inside was a wolf suspended in animation. "This is where the monsters came from…" Ryan whispered. "She sent them from my own home to attack me."

"What? I didn't hear you buddy."

"Nothing, Valdez. I'm moving to the next pod."

Ryan slid over to the next pod. Inside this one was a tall man with bushy blonde hair. His clothes were denim covered in rhinestones. "It's him..."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, this is who we're looking for!"

"Oh good. Umm, any idea how we're going to get him down?"

"All this time…" Ryan said to himself, "… he was right above my head… and she kept him from me." Ryan thrust his fist into the sap. He grasped the man's shoulder and kicked off from the wall. The man slowly slid out from the sap until he was dangling over Ryan's shoulder. Ryan gently descended to the ground.

"Is he alright?" asked Leo.

"He's just unconscious." Ryan laid his father on the ground. "Years in stasis will do that to a person."

Leo studied the man's face. He could have swore he had seen the man before. "Oh my gods, that's Ricky Dash!"

"Who?"

"The famous rockstar from the 80's? My mom used to play his songs all the time in the mechanic shop."

"Hmm, ironic," said Ryan.

"What's ironic?"

"Oh come on," Ryan sounded uncharacteristically sarcastic, "Rock-star? Get it?"

"Wow, how did that go over my head?"

Ryan smiled for the first time since Leo knew him. "You're not as smart as you'd like to think… Leo."

Leo smiled back. "And you're not as crazy and angry as you'd like to think."

"Ugh, mortal babble is always so dull."

Ryan and Leo turned to face the source of the comment. Walking across the rock bridge was General Harkus flanked by three enormous cyclops. Ryan quickly made the rock bridge collapse bringing one of the cyclops into the water. He thrashed and screamed. "Get me out! Get me out!"

"Aha, I knew it was acid," said Leo.

"He can't swim too good," said one of the cyclops as he pulled the other out of the water.

"Never mind."

"What are you doing here Harkus?" Ryan demanded.

"General Harkus, you whelp. Your insubordination has reached its end," Harkus towered above Ryan as the other cyclops eyed Leo. "You've led me to the Heart Stone as I've predicted. Now, your usefulness is at an end as well."

"You slimy, backstabbing…"

"Don't pretend we were allies, boy. I was tasked with training you in swordsmanship and you failed to meet even the lowest of my expectations. If it weren't for your mother's prying eye I would have ended you long ago."

"I've learned far more on the surface than I've learnt from you."

Harkus raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He threw the red towel back over his shoulder, revealing a distinct pair of swords at his hip. One was made of gold and ornately decorated down the blade to the hilt. The other was a decrepit iron sword with one edge rusted down to the shape of teeth. "Then why don't you show me what you've learned?"

"The Thanes…" muttered Ryan.

"The what?" asked Leo.

"A fabled pair of swords," explained Ryan. "Deadly when separate. Useless when together."

"The gold sword is the Thane of Life," continued Harkus. "It's wielder is immortal while holding it."

"While the iron sword is the Thane of Death. Any wound by its blade is deadly."

"When the wielder has both swords, their effects are nullified. But separate…"

"They are the most deadly swords in legend."

"Except when used against each other," said Harkus. "The wielder of the gold sword is not immortal when struck by the iron sword, but they do not die from the first wound either."

"How have I never heard of these? You'd think two swords like that would have left at least a rumor," said Leo.

"I've been careful not to leave anyone alive to tell the tale," said Harkus.

"It doesn't matter, I'll be the one to finish you, Harkus," said Ryan.

"General Harkus," he retorted. "Very well, it is your choice. Gold or iron? Life or Death?"

Ryan thought carefully.

"Hey, you can beat this guy, right?" asked Leo.

Ryan didn't answer. Instead he pointed at the iron sword and said, "That one."

"Very well," said Harkus tossing the sword to Ryan.

Ryan grasped the sword firmly and planted his feet. "I'll make this quick. My father is waiting."

"You know, there is no learning without pain and suffering," said Harkus. He unsheathed his sword. "It's time for another lesson."

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

The quietness of the surrounding forest made Leo even more nervous. Ryan struck first with a wild swing. Harkus easily sidestepped the attack, but did not retaliate. Ryan raised his sword again for a second strike. With blinding speed, Harkus parried and kicked Ryan to the ground.

"Still too slow," said Harkus. "You rely on your strength to make up for your lack of skill."

Ryan punched the ground in frustration. He pointed the Iron Thane at Harkus's chest and charged. Harkus deflected the attack and Ryan tumbled to the ground at his feet.

"You choose to fight in the mud like a vagrant," mocked Harkus. "Despite all my teachings, you do not have the discipline for a true warrior's weapon."

Ryan growled and swung his sword at Harkus's feet. Harkus nimbly jumped over the blade. Ryan stumbled to his feet and tried to assume a proper stance. Harkus planted his sword in the ground and gestured for Ryan to come at him.

Ryan carefully stepped forward, keeping his sword level. Ryan moved forward until the point of the Iron Thane nearly grazing Harkus's skin. Harkus calmly put his arms behind his back.

Ryan thrust the sword forward. Harkus deftly dodged the blade by stepping to the side. Ryan swung high then low, but Harkus remained untouched by the swords deadly metal. Ryan jumped forward and lashed out with all his strength. Harkus easily dodged it and struck out with his palm. He hit Ryan's the blow and caused his arm to straighten. Harkus followed up with a quick jab to the stomach and Ryan dropped his sword entirely. Ryan grunted in pain as he clutched his stomach.

Harkus picked up Ryan by the collar and held him face to face. "If you were, in any capacity, my equal, I would give you the respect you think you deserve," he said, "but all of your actions have, so far, proved…underwhelming." Harkus dropped Ryan on the ground. The two cyclops guards picked him up and held each arm behind his back.

Harkus entered the giant hollow tree. "Your mother is extremely disappointed in you. She expected an heir capable of bringing ruin upon those dreadful demigods."

Ryan gasped for breath, still recovering from Harkus's blow.

Harkus slowly approached the pedestal in the center of the tree. "She deserves someone much more capable to inherit her power." Harkus eyed the black stone embedded in the pedestal. "I will lead her armies across the surface. I will raze the mortal world to the ground and strike down the false gods in honor of the Earth-Mother!" Harkus raised his arm above the stone. "And when Gaea returns, I will be named her champion. None will deny my power!"

The two cyclops guards exchanged nervous glances. In their arms, Ryan struggled to free himself. The Iron Thane lay just out of reach. Harkus's Gold Thane was still planted in the ground just outside the hollow tree.

Harkus reached for the Heart Stone , a hungry look in his eye. Just before touching the stone, Harkus's hand was suddenly reeled back away from the pedestal. "What is this!?" he shouted.

"Call it retribution," said Leo, his grappling hook wrapped around Harkus's wrist, "for hurting my friend."

Harkus chuckled as he unwrapped the grappling hook. "Stockholm syndrome at its finest," he said to himself. "You're awfully quick to defend someone who took you prisoner."

"Water under the bridge," said Leo. "Now back away from the pointy rock."

Harkus stepped up to Leo. He towered over him by almost 3 feet. Leo recoiled under the threatening gaze of Harkus's one eye. "What are you, a mere mortal, going to do to stop me?"

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you using the word 'mortal' as a derogatory term," said Leo. "In this day and age you should be a lot more accepting of those that are different from you. Especially since you yourself are so different in the way that… Are you ready yet?! I'm running out of things to say!"

Ryan crumbled the ground beneath the two cyclops, causing them to fall to their knees. Ryan elbowed them both in the face and rose to his feet.

"Ow! He hurt my nose," grumbled one cyclops.

"He hurt my pride," said the other.

Ryan picked up the iron sword as he rushed at Harkus. Leo reeled in the grappling hook and took aim at Harkus.

"Very well," said Harkus, "if, again, you wish to challenge me, then, again, I will put you in your place."

With renewed strength, Ryan swung at Harkus. Harkus simply dodged every attack with his hands behind his back. Leo's grappling hook wrapped around Harkus's wrist. Harkus dodged one of Ryan's strikes and used the wire from the grapple to wrap Ryan's hands together. Ryan angrily kicked and thrashed at him, but Harkus wrapped his leg in the wire as well.

Harkus chuckled as Ryan bounced around on one foot, trying to get himself untangled from the grapple wire.

"My bad!" Leo yelled.

Harkus slid the wire off his wrist and jauntily stepped towards his gold sword. Ryan fell over and kicked the grapple wire off his foot. "You're not helping!" he shouted at Leo.

Harkus removed the Gold Thane from the ground. "If you need help, then you haven't been watching carefully." Harkus confidently strode towards Ryan. "You are completely outmatched on every level." Harkus threw a powerful strike at Ryan's head that he barely blocked in time. "You are helpless, Ryan, and there is little you can do to change that." Harkus unleashed a flurry of swings and thrusts with the gold sword. Ryan was forced to take step after step back until he was completely backed against the wall. "So why don't you just die!?" Harkus growled. He thrust the Gold Thane one last time at Ryan's chest.

Ryan rolled out of the way just before Harkus's sword became pinned in the wood behind him. "And leave my mother's legacy to someone like you? Never," said Ryan.

Leo dropped a glob of sap from above. Harkus stepped back before the sap completely covered the sword. Harkus touched the swords hilt. His fingers were covered with sticky sap. He wiped his hand off on the wall. "No matter," he said. "I will defeat you at your own game."

Ryan lifted the iron sword again. He found it becoming heavier and heavier each time he wielded it. He made a slow thrust at Harkus's chest that he easily avoided.

A devious smile crept across Harkus's face. "Can you feel it?" Harkus asked.

Ryan swung again, using all his strength to even get the sword in the air. Harkus swatted the blade aside with his hand.

"The Iron Thane is a deadly weapon indeed, but it's power comes at a considerable price," said Harkus.

Ryan exhaustedly dropped the sword at his side. His vision started to go dark. Ryan fell to his knees.

"Do you feel your strength draining? Your will to live waning?" asked Harkus. "It was only a matter of time before you pushed yourself to the point of exhaustion."

"What is it with villains and their monologues?" asked Leo. He threw another glob of sap at him from up in the tree.

Harkus sidestepped the glob of sap. Leo aimed the grappling hook at the opposite wall and fired. He jumped away from the wall and swung down like a pirate swinging from the mast. He grabbed Ryan in his arms as he swung by and they flew past the two guards, over the moat, and out into the open field.

"Hey! Slow down!" said one cyclops.

"And wear a helmet!" said the other.

Leo threw Ryan's arm over his shoulder and supported him as they escaped into the forest.

"Leave them, I have what I came for." Harkus stepped up to the pedestal. "Neither of them can stand up to the power of the Heart Stone."

Harkus placed his palm on the Heart Stone. Harkus felt a sharp pinch in his arm. He reeled back in pain, but his hand was stuck to the pedestal by sticky sap. The power of the Heart Stone flowed into Harkus's body. He could suddenly feel the dirt beneath his toes, the grass outside and the entire tree around him. They all bent to his will. He was now one with the Earth.

The sap dissipated and the stone fell to the ground. Just before the shard hit the ground it suddenly froze in the air. It slowly rose again and placed itself in Harkus's hand. Harkus's eye was wide. The power over the very Earth itself was his to command. Harkus, for the first time in ages, smiled.

"This is where it ends…"

Leo and Ryan hobbled through the forest. Ryan was barely able to stand on his own.

"Why don't you just drop that thing?" asked Leo as they rushed through the bushes.

Ryan looked at the Iron Thane still in his hands. "I can't… drop it," he said slowly going in and out of consciousness. "The… only thing… that can kill him."

"Wait, you were serious about the whole 'invincible' thing?"

"And now… he has… the Heart Stone. We have… to stop him.. I need… a moment." Ryan collapsed to the ground and coughed heavily.

"Take as long as you need," said Leo, "as long as it's less than five seconds." Leo sat on the ground next to Ryan. "I can hold it, while you get your strength back. You don't need to carry this thing alone."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Leo," said Ryan, handing over the grisly sword. "Thanks for offering so I did not have to ask."

Leo took the sword in his arms cautiously. "We'd better get going before they catch up."

"Wait," said Ryan holding a finger to Leo's mouth. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Leo whispered. Ryan put his ear to the ground. "Oh, now you listen to plants? I wish I could say I'm surprised by this, but…"

"Shh!" Ryan listened intently to the slight vibrations in the soil. They made a noise that almost sounded like a voice.

"I know you can hear me, boy," came Harkus's voice and through the ground. "You have my sword. I should have expected such a cowardly act, but I fooled myself into thinking you had a sense of honor."

"It's Harkus," said Ryan. "He's talking to me through the earth."

"Doesn't make you sound any less crazy, dude," said Leo.

"I'm beginning my war as soon as I reach the surface," continued Harkus. "Starting with your demigod companion's friends. Return my sword to me or I'll slaughter them all."

Ryan looked up at Leo with a grim face.

"What? Did the plants say something mean to you?"

"Harkus has delivered an ultimatum. If we do not return the sword he will kill your friends."

"We can't let him do that, right? We can warn them before he gets close, or maybe we can intercept him."

"It doesn't matter what we do, Leo." Ryan crawled up to a tree and rested his head against the base. "We'll never be able to keep up with him at this pace. He's not chasing us, he's making us go to him."

"So we can expect a trap, right? That's what bad guys do."

"Exactly." Ryan picked up a stick and drew a circle in the dirt. "We'll have to sneak up on him to take him out, but I don't think as possible anymore."

"Why not?"

"With the power of the Heart Stone he can sense everything that's touching the earth nearby. He'll see us coming from miles away."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I wish I was, Leo. Our best option would be to let your friends cause a diversion from the front, allowing us to get close enough to him to strike." Ryan drew three arrows pointing at the circle on one side and an 'x' on the other side. "The other demigods might be strong enough to hold their own against him, but not for long. We have to get moving now or we'll be far too late to stop Harkus."

"Right, right," said Leo. "Just… give me five more minutes." Leo slumped onto his side, still clutching the iron sword.

"Hand it over, I'm strong enough to take it for now." Ryan took the sword from Leo's grasp and stood. "We have to get to the forest and find them. I won't let Harkus harm them for my misdeeds. I swear on my life, Leo Valdez, that I will kill Harkus before tonight is over."

"That's great and all, but are we going to have to keep constantly passing the sword so we don't die of exhaustion?"

"Until we find a better method of bringing it with us, yes."

"I knew I should have stayed at camp."

"Grant!"

"What…?" Grant woke up sluggishly. "What is it?"

Percy stood by window, peeking through the blinds. "Really, dude? You fell asleep on the job?"

Grant got off the kitchen floor and joined Percy at the window. "Are we under attack?"

"There's three of them," said Percy, "looks like they're cyclops."

"What are they doing?"

"I don't know. They look like they're waiting for something."

"Reinforcements maybe?"

"Could be."

The smallest cyclops noticed them through the blinds. "Come on out Percy Jackson!" he shouted. "You and your friends will not be harmed. I only wish to speak with you."

Percy and Grant exchanged glances. "Trap," said Percy.

"Definitely a trap," said Grant.

"What's the plan?"

"Well, obviously we go out there, keep him talking until he accidentally gives us vital information, then retreat back to the house when he springs his trap and we are immediately outnumbered."

"You've done this before?"

"Third time this month."

"Should we wake everyone else up?" asked Percy.

"Nah, we got this," said Grant. "We've beaten worse than three cyclops before."

"Sure, but something about his seems… off."

"Percy Jackson!" shouted Harkus again. "It's considered rude to keep guests waiting."

"You do the talking, I'll be the muscle," said Grant.

"I don't have a weapon," said Percy.

"Don't worry, dude. I've got your back." Grant pat Percy on the shoulder. "Now, let's go get some answers."

Percy and Grant walked out the front door to meet with Harkus. Grant kept his sword clearly visible on his belt. Percy strode confidently up to Harkus.

"I believe I only asked for Percy Jackson," said Harkus. He gestured to Grant.

Percy pointed to the two hulking cyclops behind Harkus. "You have your bodyguards, I have mine," he said.

Harkus scrutinized Grant and Percy for a moment then said, "Very well, let us talk."

"You called me out here, you first."

Grant nodded silently.

"I am General Harkus," said the cyclops as he bowed. "I'm pleased to meet with a demigod of your esteem. You are considered a legend among us monsters. Tales of your exploits spread through my ranks like wildfire."

"What kind of tales?" Percy asked. "Do you talk about my adventures and conflicts with monsters or just tales of what I had for breakfast that morning. Honestly, things have been pretty slow these past few months."

Grant grunted in agreement.

"Ah, you have a sense of humor," said Harkus. "That is good. It would be best to approach this situation with cynicism. You see, I am not here for you. None of this has been about you or your friends."

"Then what's this all about, Harkus?"

"General Harkus," said Harkus, losing his civil tone. "This is about that failure of an heir, Ryan, and the fabled Heart Stone. One of which is in my possession, while the other blunders aimlessly through the subterranean tunnels."

"You mean you're not with him? I thought Ryan commanded the army of monsters."

"Hah! That whelp couldn't command an ant to do his bidding, let alone my army."

"Your army?" said Percy. "That jerk tricked us! I knew we should have gone after him. Now he has Leo and there's nothing we can do about it."

"That's right, he has your friend. However, it may surprise you to learn that they are working together. They eluded me once before, but now I plan on making them come to me. It just so happens that Ryan has stolen a special sword of mine, an ancient relic with the power to slay gods. I want it back."

"How do you plan on getting his attention? I have a few words I'd like to say to him, too."

"Now, here is where that sense of humor would come in handy," said Harkus with a devious smile. "The only thing he would possibly come back for, is to save his dear companion's loved ones. That means you. That, also, means that I'm holding you hostage until the traitorous duo returns to rescue you."

Grant and Percy exchange glances. "How do you plan on keeping us here?" asked Percy. "You're just three cyclops against all of us."

"With my army, of course!" Harkus said, gleefully. "You have ten minutes to prepare before I send my army in to destroy you all. Good luck, Percy Jackson."

Percy and Grant burst through the door in a panic. "I'll wake everyone up," said Percy.

"I'll board up the windows," said Grant.

Percy ran upstairs shouting, "Wake up! We've got monsters incoming! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!"

Percy entered the guest bedroom. "Piper! Get ready, we've got…" Percy looked at the wall clock, "…eight minutes before an army shows up at our door."

Piper rolled groggily in bed. "Hmm? There's monsters outside? Okay…" Piper's eyes shot open. "There's monsters coming!?"

"I'll explain in a minute, just get ready for a fight," said Percy as he ran to the next room.

Soon, everybody was assembled around the dining room table with a severely melted candle that only Grant noticed.

"So, let me get this straight," said Annabeth. "Leo and Ryan are working together and now they're fugitives of this guy named Harkus….

"General Harkus," said Grant. "He's pretty adamant about that."

"…and now he's going to kill us if they don't come and give back his sword."

"That's about what I got out of it," said Percy. "He, also, mentioned something called the Heart Stone. Didn't you guys find something about that?"

"It's an old shard of the earth itself in its primeval form," said Alice. "Supposedly, the earth has changed over millions of years, but that's the last piece of pure stone left in the world."

"Some stories say that it can give someone power over the earth," said Annabeth. "If Harkus has it, then we may be in trouble."

"Trouble is our specialty," said Kate. "We can take him, easily."

"I wouldn't rush to conclusions," said Piper. "We should be cautious when dealing with a new enemy we know little about."

"Of course you wouldn't want to get your hands dirty, princess. I meant 'us,' the real heroes here," said Kate.

"Okay, you know what?" started Piper.

Annabeth held Piper back. "We don't have time to be arguing amongst ourselves," she said. "We prepared for an attack. We can handle this. Harold, how's the forge coming? Is Riptide ready yet?"

Harold was busy looking over his shoulder as if he was looking for someone. "Hmm? Oh, yes, the forge is ready. I would prefer if Alice handled the sword as my experience with magical substances, like Celestial Bronze, is severely limited."

"I'll get right on that," said Alice. "The rest of you can take up positions around the house. We can't let them take this house. It's our best strategic defense point. We have our backs against a huge cliff, so they'll be trying to force us back. We need to push back with everything we've got."

"Good plan, sis," said Grant. "Battle stations everyone! Let's show this creep that we're not to be messed with!"

Everyone split up to take positions outside the house. Grant grabbed Kate's arm before she left. "Hey, Kate, hold up," he said. "Before things get crazy, there's something I need to say."

"Can't it wait? The fun's about to start."

"I know, but listen to me. Whatever happens out there, I want you to be safe. Alright?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "When did you start caring about safety?"

"I'm not sure," Grant smiled. "I guess I'm finally realizing what's most important to me. It's not doing awesome stuff and it's not becoming a legend. It's you."

Kate blushed for the first time in years. "Well, yeah, that makes sense… You too, okay?" She quickly kissed him on the cheek and ran upstairs.

Grant sighed happily and checked his watch. "Thirty seconds…" he whispered. Grant walked out the front door and prepared for the worst.

"Time's up," said Harkus, "and Ryan is nowhere to be seen."

"And neither is your army," said Grant.

"I'm terribly sorry," said Harkus with a wicked smile that said otherwise. "It was not my intention to kill you. At least, not yet."

"Stop with the pleasantries. We all know that this is going to end one of two ways, there's no use being nice about it."

"So impatient," said Harkus. "I suppose it is a defining factor of your generation. Very well, you asked about my army, right?"

Harkus raised his hand. The ground shook violently. Huge rocks erupted from the ground. The rocks continued crumbling away, forming the shape of a human in stone. About twenty stone statues stood before Grant. Each one suddenly turned their head and stared at Grant.

"I no longer have need of those insubordinate, untrained, buffoons that call themselves an army," said Harkus. "I have the power to raise my own army. Invincible, unflinching, unthinking. The perfect soldiers to follow me to the peaks of Olympus to strike down the so-called gods."

Every soldier had a carved out face, but no eyes. Grant felt extremely unsettled facing a battalion of stone soldiers by himself. He swallowed the lump in his throat and said, "Is that all you got?" He raised his sword in defiance.

"Ah, I see you, too, fancy yourself a swordsman," said Harkus. "That is quite the weapon you hold there. As it seems, I am in need of a replacement."

Harkus drew his gold sword. The lines of stone soldiers parted ways as Harkus gestured for Grant to step forward.

"Go play with our new friends," Harkus said to his bodyguards.

"Yay!" said one.

"New friends!" said the other. They marched towards the house along with the battalion of stone soldiers.

"I'll take care of the general," Grant said into his earpiece. "You got two large idiots and a bunch of rock people coming your way."

"I'll give you covering fire," Kate responded.

"Don't, just keep the house covered. I'll be fine."

"You better not die on me."

"Come on, you know me."

"That's exactly why I'm worried."

Grant raised his sword. Harkus removed the Gold Thane from its sheathe.

"I hope you provide more of a challenge than my last opponent," said Harkus. "If not, then at least I'll have a marvelous new weapon to add to my collection."

"We'll see if you can keep up old timer," said Grant. "I've been told my swordsmanship is unmatched."

"By the worthless dogs of your world, perhaps. In reality, none can best me at my own game."

"You first."

"As you wish."

Harkus dashed forward with blinding speed. Grant defended himself at the last second, but the strike was so quick he nearly lost his sword. Grant recovered and tightened his grip on the hilt.

"Okay, not bad," Grant muttered. He struck back just as fast. His blade immediately met Harkus's. He towered over Grant. Each swing was delivered with enough power to stumble Grant.

Grant saw where every strike would come from, but they were coming too fast for him to block them all.

"I might need that covering fire after all."

"Too late, we have our own problems," said Kate. She stood on the roof watching over the battle through the scope of her sniper rifle. While Grant had his hands full with Harkus, Annabeth held the South side of the house and Piper held the North. The two cyclops split up to take each side. The rock people were slow moving, they weren't even halfway to the house yet. Good, thought Kate, plenty of time to take out the big guys.

Annabeth rolled under one of the cyclops's arms and stabbed him in the leg. The giant cyclops fell to the ground. "Ow!" he yelled. Annabeth climbed onto his back and planted the dagger into the cyclops's head. The monster dissolved into gold dust instantly and Annabeth fell to the ground.

Kate turned her attention to the North where Piper held her ground against the other cyclops. She kept the cyclops buried in an avalanche of food from her cornucopia. The cyclops was stuffing food into his mouth as fast as he could. "I hate vegetables!" he yelled as he continued to eat his way to freedom.

Kate took aim at the advancing army of stone soldiers. She loaded in a Celestial Bronze bullet and fired. The bullet ricocheted off the animate statue's head without doing any damage.

"Damn," Kate swore under her breath. "More resilient than I thought." She released the magazine and replaced it with a new one filled with explosive rounds. "This should do the trick."

Kate fired again and this time the shot exploded on contact with the statue's stone skin. When the smoke cleared, a large portion of the statue's torso was missing, but it continued advancing. Kate continued firing from her sniper's nest. She unloaded clip after clip into the marching army, with little effectiveness. "Who does he think he is?" she muttered to herself. "Embarrassing me like that. 'You too, okay?' That didn't even make sense!" She fired the last shot that crumbled another stone soldier to rubble. "I thought we agreed when we first started dating that we weren't going to be one of those sweet, lovey-dovey couples. Ugh, I hate him so much." Kate emptied another clip into the third statue as it fell to the ground. She reached behind her and grabbed another clip and loaded it into Velocity.

"Not that I minded the compliment, of course," she continued. "Just don't spring something like that on me without warning!" Kate reached for another clip, but her fingers only grazed one. "Hmm, last clip. Gotta make this count." Kate searched for a target. Through her scope she saw the ones she just put down start to get back up. They reattached their broken limbs and continued marching towards the house. "You've got to be kidding me," said Kate.

Kate looked through her sights at the advancing rock army. At least sixteen intact statues were about to reach the house. Annabeth and Piper were engaging two of them up close. Too close for explosive rounds. Kate searched for a target at the back of the group when she heard a scream.

One of the statues had grabbed Piper's arm in a vice-like grip. It raised it's fist to strike. Kate reacted quickly, diving off the roof. She slid down the shingles and kicked off the gutters. She drop kicked the statue in the face, causing it to stumble backwards. Kate swung Velocity like a sword. It's bayonet clipped the statue's arm, causing it to spark. Piper jumped on it's back and tried to pull it down.

"Hey, back off, princess," said Kate. "I don't need your help."

"Then it's a good thing I don't need your approval," said Piper. The stone soldier grabbed Piper and threw her over it's head. She landed harshly on her back.

"See what being stupid gets you?"

"Oh, like you're a genius." Piper rolled to the side before the stone creature stomped the ground.

"I've taken down four of these things so far! What have you done?" Kate pointed the barrel of Velocity at the stone soldier as it hobbled only a few feet away. A single shot cracked the stone armor around it's chest. Kate noticed something bright green slithering beneath the rock.

"I've saved the world from Gaia!" shouted Piper. "Without us demigods protecting you guys all the time, you wouldn't even have a place to call home." She blew into her cornucopia. The stone soldier was knocked on its back by a torrent of food.

"You want to be treated like a princess just because you've saved the world? Join the club," said Kate. "I've never even gotten a 'thank you,' but obviously you expect more than that."

"I don't want to be treated any different than anyone else," said Piper, standing face to face with Kate, "but I'd appreciate a little common courtesy."

"You will have my respect when you earn it," said Kate. She brushed past Piper. "Sometimes you have to work for what you want, instead of having mommy send you a boyfriend or daddy finding you a part in a movie."

"What are you talking about? I've never asked my parents for anything."

"I've known too many kids with rich parents to know that's not true," said Kate. She turned back to Piper and shoved her shoulder. "I've had to grow up without parents. Everything I have, I've worked hard for and it really makes me mad seeing other people being handed things they didn't earn. Just look at you, I bet you get that natural beauty look from your mom. Strong jaw? That's from your dad. Doesn't look like you've ever had to do your hair."

"What do you care how I look?"

"You want my respect? Then answer me honestly. Your boyfriend, I know you have one, is he a status symbol or do you really love him?" Kate locked eyes with Piper, searching for any trace of a lie.

"Jason means the world to me," said Piper.

"And have you ever told him that to his face?"

"Yes."

Kate scanned her eyes for sincerity. "Good," she said finally. "He has to know." She gained a solemn look in her eyes and looked away.

"Wait, is that it?" Piper asked, confused.

"Yup, I trust you," said Kate nonchalantly.

"It was that easy? What was your problem with me to begin with?"

"Don't you dare tell anyone I said this," said Kate quietly, "jealousy."

"You're a really hard person to read, you know that?"

"Yup, I pride myself on it."

"Look out!" Piper pushed Kate out of the way as a newly freed stone soldier swung its heavy arm at her. The rock monster's fist connected with Piper's jaw, throwing her to the ground.

The monster shambled towards Piper as she lay silently in the grass. Kate jumped in its path. "You've still got to deal with me," she said.

Kate put Velocity between her and the monster, trying to stab the bayonet through the crack in the rocks. The crack was too small for the bayonet to reach through. Kate pushed harder and harder to keep the monster at bay, but with every step the creature was gaining ground. Kate took one look behind her at Piper, still unconscious and with a bruised jaw.

Kate pulled the trigger. An explosive bullet fired from the barrel and directly into the monster's chest. The force of the explosion threw Kate back.

Piper opened her eyes. The monster that just hit her was laying on its back and Kate was crawling to the remains of her rifle, Velocity. Piper stood up and held her jaw in pain.

"Are you alright?" asked Kate.

"I'm fine." Piper said. "I don't suppose you have any ambrosia, do you?"

Kate remained silent. In her arms she cradled the splintered barrel of her favorite weapon. The explosion shattered the bayonet and destroyed most of the front half of the gun.

"Thanks," said Piper, "I appreciate the save."

Kate took a deep breath, steeling her resolve. "Don't mention it, just promise me you'll help kill the rest of these things."

Piper and Kate turned their attention to the broken rock monster. Inside it's fractured chest something moved.

"What is that?" Piper asked.

A knot of twisted vines curled inside of the stone monster's chest. Vines spread throughout it's entire body from the heart of tangled flora in the center. The vines contracted and the monster's arms moved.

Piper quickly stabbed her dagger into the mass of vines and the arm fell. The roots shriveled and died.

"That's like their heart," said Kate. "It has to be how they move."

"Got a plan?" Piper asked.

"No, but now we know they have a weakness." Kate reached for a pistol on her holster. "Take this." She put the gun in Piper's hands. "Soften 'em up with this, then take out the heart with your knife."

Piper hesitantly accepted the gun. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get the Angel," said Kate, "then I'm going to go save my boyfriend whether he wants me to or not." Then she ran off towards the house.

"Crap."

Annabeth found herself surrounded by four stone monsters. Her dagger couldn't penetrate their armor and every time she knocked one down it would get right back up.

They advanced slowly and eerily. One reached out to grab her, but Annabeth ducked under the arm. She tried to roll away, but another statue grabber her by the foot. The monster dragged her back the the center of the monster mosh pit and held her up. Annabeth struggled to free herself, but the grip on her arms was too tight.

One monster across from her raised its fist. Annabeth closed her eyes and flinched. The sound of cracking stone rang in her ears and she was dropped to the ground. Annabeth opened her eyes and saw the rock monster offering a friendly hand. Annabeth stared in confusion. Another monster punched it in the face. The two exchanged punches until the friendly one swept the legs out from under the evil one.

Annabeth stood in amazement as the stone soldier fought off the other two. It picked up one by the leg and threw it into the other one. Once they were dispatched the rock monster looked at Annabeth and gave a thumbs up.

"Uhh, thanks?" said Annabeth.

"You're welcome," said Fiona possessing the rock monster. "Oops, you can't hear me. Why don't these things have mouths? Or eyes? That's really creepy."

"Who are you?" asked Annabeth.

"Umm, I can't really explain it. Oh, I have an idea."

The rock monster dragged its finger across it's throat.

"Dead? You died?" Annabeth guessed.

The rock monster shook its head. It put its hands in front of its face, then moved them and shook its hands.

"Peek-a-boo? Boo... a ghost? Are you a ghost?"

"Exactly!" said Fiona. "Wow, you are really good at charades."

Piper came running from the other side of the house. "Annabeth! Are you alright?" She saw the rock monster and stopped in her tracks. "Watch out, it's right behind you!" Piper held up the gun she was given. The rock monster put its hands up in surrender.

"Piper, wait!" Annabeth jumped in front of Fiona. "This one's friendly. It saved my life."

"How can it be friendly?" asked Piper. She lowered the gun. "All the others just tried to kill me."

"There's a ghost possessing this thing. Don't worry he's friendly."

"She's friendly," corrected Fiona. The rock monster put its hands on its hips.

"I mean, she's friendly?" said Annabeth. The rock monster curtsied.

"This day just keeps getting weirder," muttered Piper.

The other three rock monsters started moving again. Piper leapt into action, shooting the monsters in the chest to expose the vine heart. Piper stabbed one with the dagger. Annabeth followed suit and put her dagger into another one's heart. Fiona punched the last one in the chest, ripped the ball of vines out and held it in the air.

"Fatality!" Fiona shouted. "This is fun! We have to do this more often, ladies."

"Gods Piper," said Annabeth, "Your chin… Are you alright?"

"Took a hit, I'll be fine," said Piper. "There's only one way to make sure these monsters stay down."

"Right," said Annabeth. "Come on, there's still a lot more of them at the front of the house."

Piper, Annabeth, and Fiona rounded the corner of the house to find the rest of the rock creatures pounding on the front door. Near the forest's edge Grant still grappled with Harkus.

"My patience is wearing thin," said Harkus. "You cannot win, so why prolong the inevitable?"

Grant used his superior agility to keep away from Harkus's blade. As Harkus swung across, Grant backflipped away.

Harkus thrust his sword at Grant's chest, but he spun to the side. Grant finally had an opportunity to strike back. He swung his sword at Harkus's midriff. The blade made contact with Harkus's skin and made golden sparks before being thrown from Grant's hand.

"Heh, clever boy," said Harkus. He hit Grant in the face with his free hand. "I suppose congratulations are in order." Harkus sheathed his gold sword and ran his hand along where the blade struck him. There wasn't a single scratch on his skin. "No one has landed a single blow before now. However, I neglected to inform you of one, tiny detail."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Grant said. He stood up and summoned his sword back to his hand. "That's something I would have lead with. Like, 'Hi, my name's Harkus. I'm immortal.' You're a bad house guest."

"Enough games," said Harkus. "I've given you more than enough time." Harkus raised his fist. A hand of stone erupted from the ground and grabbed Grant. It squeezed him tightly, then slammed him into the ground. Grant tried to get back up, clutching his chest. A pillar of rocks shot upwards into his stomach and knocked him into the air. A boulder flew through the air and collided with Grant, ending them both crashing through the house into a room on the 2nd floor.

"Grant!" yelled Annabeth.

"Don't worry," said Alice, emerging from behind, "he's survived worse."

"Are you sure?" asked Percy. "That looked brutal."

"I'm okay!" shouted Grant from the open hole in the house. "I'll just lie here for a few minutes, if that's alright with you guys!"

"He heals at an accelerated pace," explained Harold. "It's fascinating."

"Percy!" Annabeth gave Percy a hug. "Is your sword fixed?"

Percy brandished the newly reformed Riptide. Its blade glowed as bright as ever with a shiny series of runes running along the Celestial Bronze surface.

"I couldn't restore the sword's magical properties," said Alice, "so I enchanted it with runes instead."

"Whose room did I land in?" shouted Grant. "I'm bleeding all over someone's stuffed animals!"

"You'd better not be!" Alice shouted back. "They're collectible!"

"Would you all shut up?!" Harkus interrupted. "I'm about to destroy you all and you're conversing about stuffed animals!"

Percy looked to his friends. "We can take him, as long as we work together."

"Agreed," said Harold. "Not me, of course, but all of you… you guys can stop this monster."

"Where's your sense of adventure, Harold?" asked Fiona.

"Fiona?" Harold gasped at the rock monster. "Is that you?"

"Duh."

"I… I wanted to apologize."

"Hey, you can do it after we win." Fiona put her rock arms around Harold. "I've got some things to say, too."

"Why is he talking to that statue?" Percy asked.

"Doesn't matter," said Alice. "We're taking the fight to Harkus. Charge!"

"Ha!" laughed Harkus. "This would be adorable if you weren't all so hideous."

Percy, Annabeth, Alice, Piper and Fiona charged forward.

"You are all nothing compared to my power." Harkus drew his gold sword. "I am the master of the sword." Harkus summoned a giant boulder from the ground. "I have stolen the power of the earth from Gaia herself!" Harkus stood ready to face the forces before him. "I will not be def….Aghh!" A rough-looking iron sword pierced through Harkus's abdomen.

Harkus fell to his knees. He dropped the sword and boulder. Ryan appeared behind him. "Not again Harkus," he said. "Today you fall." Ryan pulled the sword out and threw it to the side.

"Leo!" shouted Percy.

"Miss me? Of course, you did," Leo said as he rejoined his friends.

Gold dust began falling from Harkus's wound. He clutched his stomach. "You…" He gazed at Ryan. "You've taken everything from me…"

"You did this to yourself, Harkus."

"Gaia's army would rather follow the prodigal son, than a true leader… They will all die."

"They're not the ones dying."

"You've brought ruin upon your kind." He looked up into the sky longingly. "The gods are laughing at me. Brought down by a lowly wretch."

"This does not have to be the end," came a booming disembodied voice. The entire field became sweltering hot. A fiery visage of a man appeared before Harkus. "Accept my power and together we will rain fire upon these mortals."

"No, Harkus," said Ryan. "Only a fool would deal with a demon."

"Don't do it, dude!" Grant shouted from inside the house. "Seriously!"

"Harkus, the demon will consume you," said Ryan. "Its will is poison."

Harkus looked up with hatred in his eye. "You've left me no choice..." Still clutching his mortal wound, Harkus glared at the demon.

"I accept."


	6. Chapter 6

"We're screwed."

Fire erupted on the ground surrounding Harkus. The field echoed with Anger's deep resounding laugh. Harkus swatted at the flames, but soon he was entirely engulfed by fire. "Gaaaah!" Harkus shouted in pain. The flames cauterized the large wound in Harkus's stomach. Once the work was done the flames vanished. Harkus's body lay smoking on the ground.

Slowly Harkus began to rise to his feet. There was no trace of a scar on his abdomen at all. He studied his arm carefully, flexing his biceps to test his strength. Then, he smiled a cruel, evil smile.

"I haven't felt like this in centuries," he muttered.

"Kill him!" Ryan shouted. "Now!"

Ryan leapt into the air , raising the Iron Thane above his head. As he brought the sword down, Harkus lashed out with an open palm. The rugged iron blade shattered against Harkus's hand. Harkus laughed in amusement. "You couldn't have expected that to work twice, could you?"

Harkus struck Ryan with his palm and sent him flying backwards at least thirty feet.

"Why prolong the inevitable, mortals?" Harkus asked. "Rush headlong to your demise at my hands. I promise to make it swift."

"We're not just gonna take that, right?" asked Leo. "We have to fight back."

"We will," said Percy. He rushed to attack Harkus, who quietly grinned as he put his hands behind his back.

"No!" A stone wall rose in front of Percy. He stumbled to a stop before colliding with it. "He will crush you," said Ryan. He was on his hands and knees. "This is my fight, not yours."

"This is all our fight, now," said Percy. "You dragged us into this when you attacked us in the forest."

"Didn't you learn from last time?" asked Leo. "You can't beat him alone, Ryan."

"Then I will die trying," said Ryan. Stone spikes rose from the ground, encircling the demigods and Paragons inside. "I won't let him toy with me any longer. One way or another our feud will end tonight."

"How very… noble, of you," said Harkus. "Now where was that bravery when you were my student?"

Ryan summoned his stone gauntlets. He rushed forward to punch Harkus with all his strength. He swung, but Harkus stepped to the side and lifted his knee into Ryan's stomach. Ryan collapsed to his knees, coughing. Harkus put his foot on Ryan's back and pushed him to the ground.

"Here you are again, sniveling in the mud." Harkus rose a stalagmite from the ground. "As pathetic as the day we met."

Ryan turned over on his back and threw dirt in Harkus's eyes. Harkus covered his face and Ryan gave a single, solid punch to his stomach. Harkus lurched over and Ryan hit him again in the jaw. As Harkus reeled from the uppercut, Ryan grabbed his arm and flipped him over his shoulder.

Harkus recovered immediately and swept Ryan's legs out from under him. Harkus grabbed hold of Ryan's arms and hoisted him in the air. He brought Ryan over to the stalagmite, his feet dangling right above the sharp point.

"Resorting to dirty tricks, I see," said Harkus. "I should have known better than to expect you to die with honor and dignity."

Percy, Leo and the others could only watch helplessly as Ryan tried single-handedly to defeat Harkus.

"We can't just let him die!" said Piper.

"He's really not a bad guy if you get to know him," said Leo.

Percy looked to Annabeth and Alice. "What's the plan?"

"This," said Alice. She waved her hands. Waves of blue magic ran down her arms and slammed into the stone spikes, shattering them. Percy, Leo, and Fiona charged through the opening. "They did not heed your warning," said Harkus. He threw Ryan to the side. "They will have to suffer for their mistake."

Percy swung Riptide at Harkus's legs. A rock spire sprouted from the ground to intercept the sword. The spire then slid across the field, knocking Percy to the ground.

Leo spout fire from his hands, engulfing Harkus in flames. Harkus shrugged and dusted off his shoulder. "So, you like to play with fire?" asked Harkus.

Harkus stomped his foot, causing lava to erupt from beneath the ground. Leo stumbled back to avoid being melted.

Fiona charged at Harkus with her head down. She tackled Harkus full speed with her stolen stone body. Harkus didn't even budge. He reached down and picked up the statue by the throat, bringing it face to face with him. His bloodshot gaze bore through the stone. "I see you, little spirit," Harkus growled.

"Fiona!" Harold shouted. "Get out of there!"

Fiona phased out of the stone statue just before Harkus crushed the statue's neck with his hands. The disembodied head fell the the ground. Despite having no facial features, the head looked almost sad, lying in the grass alone.

"Probably not a good idea to throw rocks at a guy who can telekinetically control rocks," said Alice.

"That's like throwing a bunch of Wolverines at Magneto," yelled Grant, still inside the house. "It just doesn't work!"

"Grant! We need you out here, what's your status?"

"I count at least three broken ribs left," said Grant nonchalantly. "Give me about thirty seconds."

"Doesn't that hurt?" Annabeth asked.

"Immensely!" said Grant cheerfully.

Harkus shouted, "Is that all the fight you can muster? I thought you were the Heroes of Olympus? I'm beginning to think you defeated Gaia by luck only."

"Enough playing with the mortals," Anger bellowed. "Finish them Harkus!"

"Patience, demon. These mortals have more than earned an honorable death." Harkus raised the Golden Thane above his head. "Come, rats!"

The sound of cracking glass came from the house. The giant boulder slowly rolled to the hole in the wall and fell from the second story to the ground. Standing in its place was Grant, his clothes in tatters, but otherwise uninjured.

"Is it too late to join the party?" Grant asked.

"Actually, you're right on time," said Percy, dusting himself off.

"Tag team?"

"Why not?"

Grant rushed forward, slightly ahead of Percy. He changed his weapon, Vindictus, into a round silver shield. Stopping in his tracks, Grant raised the shield above his head. "Flying fish!" he shouted.

Percy somehow understood what that meant. He leaped onto the shield just as Grant pushed up. Percy flew high into the air, up and over Harkus. He deflected a swing from Harkus in the air and landed behind him. Percy quickly turned around and tried to catch him off guard. Instead, Harkus kicked backwards, knocking Percy on his back.

Grant attacked Harkus from the front. Vindictus became a massive iron hammer. Grant nearly dragged the hammer on the ground as he raced towards Harkus. When he was within striking distance he swung the hammer up at Harkus's chin.

Harkus nimbly jumped into the air, balancing weightlessly on the hammer as Grant thrust him into the air. Harkus twirled in the air, reveling in his newfound agility.

Grant changed Vindictus into a bow. As he drew the bowstring a two magic arrows appeared knocked and ready to fire. Grant loosed the arrows at Harkus as he soared overhead.

Harkus caught both arrows with a grin. The ground cracked and slanted upwards, catching Harkus as he slid down the incline.

Harkus threw one arrow back at Grant and the other towards Alice. Grant didn't have time to think. Vindictus obeyed his thoughts and transformed into a shield in an instant. Grant immediately hurled the shield to intercept the arrow aimed at Alice. The arrow collided with silver, causing both to fall harmlessly to the ground. The other arrow, however, protruded from Grant's torso.

"Grant!" Alice shouted. Grant fell to the ground, clutching the arrow. Alice ran to his side.

"I'll be fine,"Grant said through gritted teeth. "It's up to you now, go take him out."

"What? Me…?"

"You're the only one with the power to stop that maniac."

"Grant, you know I can't…"

"Yes, you can, sis. Don't ever say you can't."

"But, last time…" Alice started, tears forming in her eyes.

"Forget last time! We need you now." Grant grabbed her hand. "You can control it this time. I believe in you."

"I… No, I won't risk it. Not again. You could all be killed!" Alice gripped Grant's hand tightly.

"We'll all be dead if you don't take the risk! Come on, Alice. I need you to be strong."

Tears flowed down Alice's face. "I'm not doing it… Not again." Alice pulled her hand from Grant's. "No matter what, I'm not hurting anyone else."

"Hmm, interesting," said Harkus. "One deals with demons for more power, while the other is afraid of that which she already possesses. What a fascinating group of mortals."

"Guys, watch out!" Leo yelled.

Harkus slashed through the earth next to Grant. Alice dragged him away as fast as she could. "Your weapons will make fine treasures for my wall," said Harkus. "You cannot hope to be any more than my trophy." He hoisted the Gold Thane above his head in triumph. "As long as I hold this blade, you cannot even touch me!"

"Yoink!" Harkus's sword disappeared in a flash of gold. Across the field Kate held it in the air, taunting. "You don't mean this sword, do you? Oops!" She tossed the Gold Thane into the air and watched it tumble off the cliff, into the dark waters.

"Grrragh! You pitiful wretch! Do you have any idea how long it took me to acquire that piece?!" Harkus shouted.

"And it only took .03 seconds for me to take it. I'd take that as a warning if I were you!"

Harkus grumbled and clenched his fists. "You will never be me…"

Kate dropped to the ground in a sprinter's stance. On her back was a sleek silver machine. It was shaped like a backpack with two short pylons sticking out from the top. The pylons began to glow and tilted to each side. Suddenly, the backpack sprouted a magnificent pair of golden wings. Silhouetted against the clear sky behind her, Kate looked like an actual angel. Kate shot upwards into the sky with incredible speed. She hovered in front of the moon and produced what looked like a silver and blue spear. On the side were three letters engraved on the spear's surface: F.T.L.

Electricity arced around the tip of the spear and Kate aimed it carefully at Harkus. Leo, Annabeth, Percy and Piper looked on in awe.

"Yup," said Kate, "there's the jaw-drop moment I've been waiting for." Kate swooped down leaving behind a golden trail of residual steeled himself for a head on strike. Kate aimed the spear at Harkus's chest and pulled a hidden trigger on its shaft. A blue bolt of electricity shot from the F.T.L.'s spearhead and blasted Harkus in the chest.

"Gah!" Harkus doubled over.

Kate zipped under Harkus's legs, holding the spear sideways. Harkus tripped and fell on his face. Kate twirls around and dropped on Harkus's back. She fired more bolts at Harkus while he was down.

"Is that my tesla gun prototype?" asked Harold.

"It's called F.T.L. remember?" said Kate.

"What does that even stand for? It doesn't make sense!"

"You don't make any sense!"

Harold put his head in his hands. "It's astounding how immature you can be. And why do you always make it look like a melee weapon?"

"So I can do this!" Kate thrust F.T.L. into Harkus's back. Electricity coursed through his entire body. Harkus growled in pain. He rolled over, throwing Kate from his back.

"Do not lay a hand on me!" He stood up again, towering over everyone. "You will all suffer!" said Harkus in a voice that was not his own. His eye was bloodshot and fires danced in his pupil. The demon was taking over.

"We have to take him down soon," said Grant. "The angrier he gets, the stronger he gets."

"Everyone, give him all you got!" shouted Kate. She flew at him for one more charge. Harkus swatted her out of the air. She tumbled to the ground, the Angel struggling to maintain the golden wings for much longer.

Piper fired the gun she'd been given at Harkus. He simply held up his hand and blocked every bullet. "Put that thing down before you hurt yourself, child."

Two stone pillars rose from the ground and smashed together, crushing the barrel of the gun and missing Piper's fingers by a centimeter.

Harkus stomped and lava seeped from the ground. With a wave of his hand, the lava splashed forward, creeping across the field. Harkus stood in the center of the lava flow, directing the molten rock towards the crowd of helpless demigods and mortals.

"Kate!" Grant shouted. He ripped the arrow from his stomach and ran to her, but the lava intercepted him. Grant stomped his foot to get the lava off his shoe. Kate lay unconscious on the other side of the lava. "Kate! Wake up!"

Harkus smiled cruelly as he directed a wave of lava towards Kate.

"No!" Grant yelled.

A wall of stone rose up, splitting the lava flow to go around Kate. Behind it, Ryan stood holding off the melting ground beneath his feet. Finally, Ryan slung Kate over his shoulder. The lava had surrounded him on all sides. With a kick, the ground beneath Ryan launched him high into the air. He landed safely away from the lava and dropped Kate at Grant's feet.

Grant's eyes met Ryan's for a moment. Ryan's intense stare was one of pure determination. Grant returned the look with one of understanding and a nod of agreement.

Grant turned and faced his friends. "I'm following his lead."

Harold turned to Alice for confirmation.

"Yeah," said Alice. "He's right, we need Ryan's help to bring Harkus down."

"But I don't need yours," said Ryan. "Run while you can, I'll hold him off for as long as possible."

"You're not having all the fun," said Grant. "I'm fighting till my last breath."

"Admirable, but foolish."

"Nobody ever accused me of being smart," said Grant.

Leo stood next to Ryan. "You came back for my friends when you could have just ran," he said. "I'm with you, too." Leo looked to Percy, Annabeth, and the others.

"I hate to say it," said Annabeth, "but this is not our fight. Whatever this is, is between Harkus and Ryan."

"We can't let a crazy cyclops loose with this much power," said Piper. "Even if we could run, he could find us. Or worse, he'd find Camp Half Blood."

"I know," said Annabeth. "And I wish I didn't." She put her head in her hands. "Why does this kind of thing always happen to us?"

"Because we're the only ones who can stop this," said Harold. He'd been quiet so long he'd surprised everyone by speaking up. "Standing here are the most gifted people on the planet. We have the power to shape the world, for better or worse. It's our obligation to do everything in our incredible power to stop people like Harkus. That's what heroes do, stand up for what's right no matter what life throws at them. Whether you are with me or not, I'm staying right here."

A moment of silence passed over the group as they took in what Harold said.

"Damn, Harold," said Fiona. "I got chills listening to that. You should be a motivational speaker or something. You know, if we survive this."

"Well," said Grant. "I'm no hero. In fact, we wouldn't even be in this mess if I hadn't royally messed everything up. But I'm not going to leave anyone to pay for my mistakes."

"And we don't leave friends behind," said Leo, looking at Ryan, "no matter how annoyingly uptight they are."

"Can't say I didn't see this coming," said Alice. "I guess there's no use in running scared all your life, is there? I'm in."

"Percy?" Grant called. "What about you?"

"Ryan stood up for us," said Percy. "That makes him a friend in my book. Just be sure not to kidnap anyone else, okay?"

"No promises," said Ryan.

"Hey, you do have a sense of humor," said Leo.

"That wasn't a joke…"

"Oh… well, we'll work on that later."

All attention turned to Annabeth. She looked solemnly at Percy, then glanced at Alice. "That's what fighters do, right? We keep fighting for what we believe in."

Alice nodded. "We couldn't do this without you," she said.

Anger whispered in Harkus's ear. "What are you waiting for? Destroy them already!"

"Shh," he replied. "I love it when they get their hopes up."

"How did you manage to defeat my mother if Harkus is only using a fraction of her power?" Ryan asked.

Annabeth's eyes lit up. "That's it! We need to separate him from his domain."

"Just like Gaia," said Percy. "Does anyone have a giant mechanical dragon on hand?"

"Not with us," said Alice. "David took his pet dragon with him."

"I'm not dying a second time for this," Leo said. "Just saying."

"If we take him away from the earth he loses his power," explained Piper. "Easier said than done."

"Does it have to be the air?" asked Alice.

"Not necessarily," said Annabeth, "but where else could you take him away from the earth?"

Alice gestured behind her at the huge cliff. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks reached their ears. "Is that good enough?"

"Let's find out."

"Take him to the water?" asked Grant. "Easy enough."

"Come on, let's give this guy a bath," said Percy.

"You really have to work on your battle cries, dude."

"Ugh, I know. That sounded so wrong."

Ryan, Percy, Grant, Leo, Annabeth and Piper ran to the edge of the lava flow. Alice and Harold stayed to look after Kate while she was unconscious. Ryan raised his hand as a huge pillar rose from the ground under the group's feet. They were carried up above the lava as it slowly encompassed the field. Harkus smirked. Another pillar rose beneath him as he met eye to eye with the others.

"Is this where you make your final stand?" Harkus mocked.

Percy looked off the edge at the brightly burning lava below. "It's certainly dramatic enough," he muttered.

"Very well," said Harkus. "Your move."

Ryan leapt into action. The rocks composing his gauntlet broke off into shards and flew at Harkus. Pieces of the pillar broke off and formed a bridge between the two towers. Ryan, Percy, and Grant sprinted across at full speed.

Harkus blocked the shards with his forearm. "Surely the son of Gaia has more to his repertoire than simply throwing stones."

Each shard bounced off of Harkus's arm and returned to Ryan. They reformed the gauntlet as Ryan threw a punch at Harkus. As Harkus moved to block the punch an apple hit him in the face. Harkus reeled back in surprise and a rock covered fist hit him square in the jaw.

"Ahh! You filthy rats!" Harkus howled.

Piper stood on the opposite pillar beside a pile of fruit from her cornucopia. She threw a banana at Harkus and shouted, "Now!"

Percy rushed in with Riptide and swung at Harkus's legs. Harkus was swept off his feet and into the air. Grant appeared next to Percy wielding a massive hammer. He heaved the hammer up and brought it down, smashing Harkus into the rocks.

Harkus clawed his way out of the small crater. His eye was even redder than before. As he raised his fist to strike, a grappling hook wrapped around his arm. Leo yanked in the string and Harkus's fist hit himself in the face.

"Ha!" laughed Leo. "You should be really embarrassed right about now."

Harkus growled. He pulled back on the grapple, pulling Leo onto the ground and sliding towards the pillar's edge.

"Leo!" Annabeth shouted. She dove to the ground, catching Leo by the ankle just inches before the edge.

Harkus unraveled the grapple from his arm and tossed it off the side where it dangled below Leo. Piper hurled an orange at Harkus. He caught it in the air and faced Piper. "Do you think some fruit can stop…"

Percy shoulder charged Harkus in the back before he could finish his sentence. Harkus stumbled forward, slipping on a fresh banana. Harkus tumbled off the edge of the pillar.

Percy and Grant looked over the edge. Harkus swung back and forth from the grapple. He ascended the rope quickly after Leo.

Leo struggled to hold himself and Harkus's weight up while Annabeth retrieved her dagger. She cut the rope and Leo went flying on his back. Harkus dropped into the ocean of lava and disappeared beneath the molten rock.

Everyone gathered at the precipice. "Is that it? Is it over?" asked Piper.

"You've just doomed us all with that question," said Leo. "You never assume it's over. Never. Bad things happen when you say stuff like that."

Sure enough, the lava dispersed and Harkus stood alive and well. Harkus grinned sadistically as the lava gathered to form a massive wave. Harkus stood atop the wave as it surged forward and crashed into the Paragons' house. Harkus was left on the roof of the house while lava melted through the ceiling. The old wooden walls quickly burned down and the house was on the verge of collapsing.

"No! Not the house!" Grant shouted. "I still have my comic books in there!"

"Everything we have… gone," muttered Alice on the ground. Alice and Harold picked up Kate between them.

"We can rebuild," said Harold. "Nothing is more valuable than our lives."

Together they carried Kate to safety as the lava overtook the house and quickly spread further. Soon the three were confined to the house's backyard where they were trapped between the burning abode and the cliff.

"We're running out of time," said Alice. "We have to get Kate to wake up. Maybe she can fly us to safety."

Harold started inspecting the damage on the Angel jet pack. He pulled off a panel on the back and looked at some wires. "It doesn't look like it's damaged badly. I can fix it in a couple of minutes."

Alice glanced at the lava approaching their position. "Yeah, we don't have that long. I hope you work well under pressure."

"I can probably make you intangible enough to survive walking through lava…" Fiona mused, "but these two would be as crispy as bacon."

"Wonderful," said Harold. "Only helpful ideas, if you please."

"Sorry," said Alice. "I get facetious when I'm nervous."

"Not you… just forget it. I'll get to work."

Grant watched in horror as his home burned to the ground. "There goes a lot of nice memories," he said.

"I'm sorry, Grant," said Annabeth. "We didn't mean for this to happen."

"It's not you I'm upset with. Harkus needs to pay for what he's done."

"Agreed," said Ryan. "We will deliver him to his grave soon enough."

"He's already moved closer to the cliff," said Percy. "Just one more push and we can send him into the water."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Leo.

Ryan tapped his foot and the whole pillar began to teeter. "Jump just before impact," he said.

"Wait, what!?"

The pillar lurched forward. The ground came into view as the pillar fell towards the house. At the last possible second everyone jumped and landed on the roof of the house while the pillar collapsed on the front porch.

"My apologies," said Ryan. "I misjudged the height."

"Could you warn us next time you do that?" asked Annabeth.

"I think I swallowed my tongue," said Percy.

"That was awesome!" said Grant. "I don't care about the porch, let's do that again!"

The wood creaked and suddenly the whole roof stated to collapse. Everyone ran to safety as the spot where they landed fell into a pit of fire and splintered wood.

Harkus stood at the far end of the house surveying his handiwork. "It's been a real pleasure contending with you," he said, "but this farce has gone on far too long. I think it's time to give the demon what it wants."

"And after you're done doing what it wants, do you realize what'll happen to you?" Grant asked.

"Yes, yes, the demon will try to overpower me or seduce me with promises of revenge." Harkus waved his hand like he was listing off his groceries. "I don't care."

"You should care," said Percy. "You'll lose everything you used to be. You'll become a hollow shell to serve the demon's purposes."

"And what would I be if I hadn't accepted this power? A corpse. Your friend stabbed me in the back. At least now I get to take my revenge. One final act of spite is all I'm reduced to. I'm already a ghost, but I'm taking you all with me to Tartarus. I hear he has some choice words for you, Jackson."

"I've heard enough," said Ryan. "You and my mother have hurt me my entire life. I've got scars from when I was a child. Gaia's training was nothing but torture. You've undermined me at every stage of my childhood. The monsters would be following my lead, not yours and you couldn't stand it. You belittled me until I was so unsure of myself I couldn't face my destiny. You're nothing but a haggard old dog struggling to hold onto the biggest bone. And it's time someone put you down."

Ryan saw desperation in Harkus's eye. He knew he'd hit a nerve. Harkus growled in rage. Ryan put up his fists and charged at him. At that moment, the roof beneath their feet gave way. Everyone fell through the roof and down into the burning house.

Ryan climbed out of a pile of rubble. At the other end of the burning hallway he saw Harkus doing the same. He ran as fast as he could at him and tackled Harkus through the brittle walls.

Grant lifted a heavy beam off Leo as he crawled to freedom. Percy came out of a room coughing.

"Are you guys alright?" Percy asked. "Where's Annabeth?"

"I'm fine," said Annabeth. She leaned against the wall holding her shoulder. "I just had a rough landing."

"I'm fine, too," said Piper. "Just in case anyone was wondering." She dusted off her cornucopia and slung it over her shoulder.

"Wait, where's Ryan?" asked Leo.

"And Harkus," added Percy. He noticed the hole in the wall. Outside, Ryan and Harkus exchanged blows. Ryan threw punches and Harkus threw lava. Harkus seemed to be slowly surrounding Ryan with lava. In a final push, Harkus hurled a glob of molten lava at Ryan's face. With a swift spin, Ryan caught the lava in his stone gauntlets and threw it back in Harkus's face. While Harkus cried out in shock, Ryan tackled him by the waist and ran off the edge of the cliff.

"Ryan!" Percy shouted. He jumped from the house and rolled in the grass. He sprinted to the cliff's edge and searched for any signs of life in the waters below. Wave after wave crashed into the cliff with no sign of Ryan or Harkus. Then, Ryan emerged from the water flailing.

Percy wasted no time diving off the cliff. The water rose to catch him and Percy willed the current to carry him away from the cliff before a wave could smash him against the rocks. He found Ryan struggling to keep his head above water. Percy glided through the water to him. As he got closer Ryan splashed water at Percy. "Stay… back!"

"Don't worry," said Percy. "I can help you swim."

Percy reached out to take Ryan's hand. Suddenly, Percy was pulled underwater. Beneath the waves Percy saw Harkus holding his breath and dragging Ryan towards the bottom of the sea. His glare gave Percy chills.

Percy broke free from Harkus's grasp and rose to the surface. Ryan spoke between mouthfuls of water. "I know… how to swim… genius!"

Percy took a deep breath and swam back down. With Riptide in his hands Percy swung at Harkus. He let go of Ryan's foot and floated backwards. A bright light from below caught Percy's attention. Far down below, a crack appeared in the ocean floor. Magma surged forth from the crack and made it's way to the surface. A rush of bubbles pushed Percy to the surface.

Percy and Ryan treaded water while the magma rose to the surface and instantly cooled in contact with the air. In seconds, a mini island had formed in the middle of the ocean. Harkus rose from the water to stake his claim to the new land.

"You cannot take me far enough away from land to dilute my power," Harkus said. His gloating was no longer full of gleeful spite. Instead a solemn depression poured over his words.

Ryan climbed out of the water onto the black island breathing heavily. He offered no rebuttal, only silence. Percy climbed next to him. Everyone on the cliff gathered at the edge to watch what happened next.

Harkus moved a hand to his pocket. Percy pointed his sword at him, but Harkus just waved it off. Harkus revealed a small rock in his hand. A dark shard of rock that, in the moonlight, glistened in all shades of green and brown. All earthly colors united in a single piece of earth.

"The Heart Stone," muttered Ryan.

"Neither of us will give up easily," said Harkus. "While we hold the resilience of Gaia, this battle will be never ending." Harkus crushed the Heart Stone in his hand. The tiny remnants of the Heart Stone blew away in the wind and became lost in the ocean. "Let this be the last time we ever face."

The remaining magma beneath the waves cooled to a solid form. Up on the cliff, the same happened to the lava encompassing the house. Alice, Harold and the others breathed a sigh of relief when the lava stopped its constant advance.

The blackened stones forming Ryan's gauntlets crumbled to dust. Percy guessed the Heart Stone was the source of Ryan's powers. Without it, neither Harkus or Ryan could manipulate the earth anymore.

"What are you doing!?" yelled Anger. The flickering fire entity appeared in front of Harkus. "You are supposed to destroy them! Remember what they took from you! Exact your revenge on these mortals!"

"This has gone on far too long," Harkus said sadly. "I'd rather die a warrior than a puppet."

"This is your last mistake," said Anger. He disappeared.

Harkus took a boxer's stance. "Are you ready for your final test, my pupil?"

Ryan nodded his head. Percy stepped between them. "Wait," he said. "Both of you are unarmed."

"But you're not," said Harkus. "You wield the blade that will determine the outcome of this battle. The side you will choose has already been decided."

Percy nervously locked eyes with Ryan. "I can't…" said Percy. "I'm not going to just execute someone."

"Then you leave me no choice!" Harkus leapt at Percy. Ryan quickly took Riptide from Percy's hands and pierced Harkus's chest.

Harkus fell to his knees. "Finish it. Let me leave this dreadful place."

Ryan pointed the sword at Harkus's neck. "You don't get to leave until you tell me one thing," said Ryan coldly. "Where. Is. My. Father?"

Harkus smirked. "A riddle for another time," he said. "If you care about your human father that much, you will find him soon enough. After you escaped I sent him somewhere safe in case I needed to blackmail you further."

"Where?"

"You'll figure it out, in time." Harkus took one final breath. "You're more capable than you realize." With that, Harkus turned to gold dust and floated away.

All that was left was the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs. It was too peaceful. Ryan fell to his knees. Percy stepped up next to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You know, I may have misjudged you," said Percy. "To think that, all this time you were going through so much…"

"He hasn't been through enough!" Percy and Ryan looked to the source of the voice. A full sized human made of fire stood on the island with them. "When I return, you will all be put through hell. Nothing will stop me from getting my…!"

A sleek white arrow pierced the demon's chest. Percy and Ryan looked up to the cliffs to see a cloaked figure run off into the distance. Anger started to dissolve away. A bright light forced Percy and Ryan to cover their eyes and when it cleared, Anger was gone. Not only was he physically gone, but the air felt more clear. Percy relaxed and realized that a subtle burden was weighing on his shoulders the whole time. The demon was no longer in existence.

Grant saw the archer run across the cooled lake of lava. He quickly dashed after them, cautious of any air bubbles in the volcanic rock. The archer disappeared into the forest. Grant followed as quickly as he could, but the only thing he glimpsed was a flash of white.

Finally, Grant stopped to catch his breath. He looked ahead and saw no trace of the mysterious cloaked figure. Grant sat down against a tree and took a deep breath. He looked towards the sky and exhaled.

"Tired?"

Grant nearly jumped out of his skin. He scrambled away from the tree and reached for Vindictus at his waist. Sitting in the tree, swinging her legs, was a young woman in a white cloak.

"It's been a while, Grant," she said.

"D…Dawn?" Grant stuttered. "You're…"

"Not dead," she finished. "I know, I may have exaggerated that part. I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you guys follow me. I needed to go on my own. You guys mean too much to me for me to put you in danger."

"No, this is great!" said Grant. "Wait till the others see you're still alive. Alice is going to flip."

"Grant…" Dawn dropped out of the tree. "You can't tell anyone else. Especially not Alice."

"Why not? Where were you this whole time? It's been almost two years."

"I've been tracking down the rest of the demons from Pandora's Box. Anger ended up here so I made it my priority to save you guys. But that doesn't mean my work is finished."

"So you're just going to leave again?"

"Don't say it like that. You're making this harder than it already is. I want to make the world safe for you and everyone else. If that's going to happen, I need to be focused. I can't worry about you or Alice or David getting hurt."

"You already hurt us by disappearing."

"I know… I know. I didn't mean for this to happen. You all wanted to help me, but I couldn't take it if anyone was killed for something I was responsible for."

"None of this is your responsibility, Dawn. You can come back to us, live it up, have friends and a family. You can have the life your mom always wanted for you."

"That's just it, Grant. I can't live my life while those demons run amok. Everyone blames my mom for releasing them on mankind, but the legends never say how she worked for centuries to fix her mistake. I'm the aspect of Hope. I'm the only one who can hurt the demons in their true form and destroy them for good. This is what I was born for."

"But that's not what you have to be. Your birthright is not what defines you."

"Grant, did you know my mother left journals all across the world?" Dawn pulled a leather bound journal from her cloak. "She detailed all of her adventures across the globe. It turns out that I only knew a little about her before she died. She was such an amazing person. All by herself, she fought a war against the very aspects of malice. She knew that I was the key to destroying them for good, but she never told me. She protected me for as long as she could while she fought against them alone. Eventually, the demons caught up to her, but she refused to give me up. She saved me by keeping me away from all this even if it cost her life. I don't want anyone else to get hurt. I have to protect you from them. Please, Grant, understand that a day hasn't passed where I don't dream of coming back to my friends. But I know what would happen if I do. I can't go through another loss like that." Dawn had tears streaming down her cheeks.

Grant hugged her tightly. "It's okay," he comforted. "Go do what you have to do. We'll be here when you've taken the last of those slime balls off the map. We'll throw you a huge 'welcome back' party. There'll be rainbow streamers everywhere, you'll love it."

"I'd love that," said Dawn. She wiped her face with her cloak. "Thanks, for understanding."

Matt appeared out of thin air. "We don't have much time left," he said. "The Prime Minister of Sweden is about to take flight and I'm pretty sure one of his advisors is the aspect of… Oh, hey Grant," he said awkwardly.

Grant looked in shock. "You told Matt?"

Dawn nodded. "Just because I didn't want you guys to get hurt doesn't mean I couldn't ask for help from time to time."

"Now I'm starting to question everything you just told me," said Grant. "Was Pandora really your mother?"

Dawn smiled. "Yes, I'm sure of it. It was nice seeing you again."

"Yeah, it was… interesting seeing you, too."

"Tell Percy I said hello."

"You told Percy, too? Just how many people know about this?"

Dawn laughed. "Goodbye, Grant."

Matt waved sheepishly before saying, "We should get back to base before Claire and Felix kill each other."

"Or kiss each other, I can hardly ever tell which it's going to be," said Dawn.

Matt took Dawn's hand and the two vanished.

Grant returned to his friends just as Percy and Ryan were climbing to the top of the cliff. Leo had built an extending rope ladder to help them up. Percy laid on his back and gazed at the sky. Everyone else couldn't decide what kind of mood to be in. Leo was his usual energetic self, while Piper looked exhausted. Alice was mourning the loss of the house, while Annabeth was coming up with ideas for a new, more fireproof house. Harold was talking to himself as usual.

Percy looked to be glad the whole ordeal was over, while Ryan continued to watch the horizon where the sun was just coming up for the morning. Grant sat next to him on the cliff's edge and watched the sunrise.

It took several minutes for everyone to calm down enough to hold a conversation. Kate finally regained consciousness and demanded that no one speaks of this incident ever again. After being filled in on the details she went on a rampage about the house being destroyed. She and Alice explored what remained of the house and brought the news back to the others.

"The whole house above ground is structurally unstable," said Alice. "Everything was burned down. Our rooms are nothing but ashes now."

"Along with the kitchen," said Kate. "How are we going to eat? I'm hungry for breakfast, but the pancake mix is toast. And not the good kind."

"Luckily," Alice continued, "the lower levels, the training room, the hangar, and the engineering labs, are perfectly fine. It shouldn't take the agency long to build a new safe house here."

"But we still have no place to stay," said Kate. "I'm not sleeping in a tent like some happy camper. I'm as far from happy as can be."

"How about you guys stay with us at Camp Half Blood?" Percy suggested. "We should have room in some of the cabins."

"Hmm, what's the thread count on your pillows?"

"I have no idea."

"Then I'll pass."

"Kate!" said Alice. "We really appreciate the offer, Percy, but we don't want to impose."

"It would be no problem, really," said Percy. "You guys could pass for demigods." He pointed at Grant. "Child of Ares." Kate. "Hermes." Harold. "Athena." Alice. "Hecate."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Percy," said Annabeth. "How would they even get through the barrier?"

"We could figure something out," Percy said. "We have to do something for them. They let us stay with them when we were in trouble, now we can return the favor."

"How long could we keep Chiron from figuring out? He'll know instantly that they're not demigods."

"The rebuilding shouldn't take more than a week," said Alice.

"See? It'll be a fun week with friends at camp," said Percy.

"Fine," said Annabeth. "You really are a bad influence, you know that?"

"It's why you love me."

Annabeth punched him in the arm. "For the record, I never said that."

"Okay lovebirds," said Grant. "Is that settled? We're going to Camp Half Blood?"

"If this ridiculous plan of Percy's works, then yes."

"Awesome!"

"What about Ryan?" Leo asked.

Ryan still sat on the cliff staring longingly at the ocean.

"Hey," Leo sat down next to him. "Crazy night, huh?"

Ryan didn't respond.

"So, we came up with this idea to smuggle everyone in to Camp Half Blood for a week, you interested?"

Ryan didn't say anything.

"Come on, who could resist a nice bed to sleep in? It's better than that underground pile of dirt, that's for sure."

"Valdez… Leo," said Ryan. "I appreciate the hospitality, but I cannot stay here."

"Yeah, nobody can. That's why we're going back to camp."

"I mean here. On the surface. With mortals."

"What are you talking about? You're one of us."

"No," said Ryan, "I'm not. I'm not like you or your friends. This isn't my home."

"We can make you a new home, buddy. Just come with us."

"I have to go back to the monsters. Without a leader things will go back to how they were, monsters fighting humans."

"We demigods can handle a few monsters, it's practically in the job description."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Ryan rose to his feet. "I was born in the depths. Raised among monsters. As much as it pains me to think about it, I'm one of them. They consider me a friend and I consider many monsters the same."

"Okay, you're messing with me, right? It sounds like you want to go back to living with monsters."

"I wish it were different, Leo. I truly do. For now, I have to go back and make sure the monsters stay in line, for your sake and theirs. Then, I'm going to find my father."

"In that case," said Leo extending his hand, "I wish you luck, my friend."

"And I you… friend." Ryan shook Leo's hand then began walking into the forest.

"Wait," Leo called after him, "I thought you lost your earth powers after Harkus crushed that rock. How are you going to get back?"

Ryan rested his hand on a tree. The bark grew over his hand and around his forearm before breaking off. Ryan inspected the new gauntlet with pride. "I'll manage," he said, then disappeared into the forest.

 **There we go, another chapter in the books. I've had an amazing time writing this for you all. I've become so engrossed in this story that I keep forgetting that it's only fan fiction. This feels like I've been given an opportunity to put my ideas out for the world to see and I love every second of it. I hope you've enjoyed the story, too. If I don't get a chance to write another chapter in the saga, thanks for all the reads. If I do manage to find time to write a continuation for the story, I'll see you next time. I'd like to hope I get to do this again because like Dawn would say, "Hope is what makes us special." Good night everyone, it's been fun.**


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